olro  and  quiet  a  delight,  is  it,  alo 
To  read  .and  roeditateand  write, 
by  Done  offended  and  cff&fidioy  ft 

(CHARLES  COTTON  1 630-37) 
EX    LIBRIS 

NE,  GREENE  DWEN  ANDREWS 


J  \\JiMJL 


THE  UNICORN  FROM  THE  STARS 
AND  OTHER  PLAYS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •    BOSTON  •    CHICAGO 
ATLANTA  •    SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON   •   BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


THE  UNICORN  FROM 
THE  STARS 

AND   OTHER  PLATS 


BY 

WILLIAM   B.    YEATS 

AND 

LADY   GREGORY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1915 

All  rights  reserved 


COPTBIGHT,  1904,  1908, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


New  edition.    Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  April,  1908. 
Reprinted  August,  1915. 


Nortoootr  $ress 

J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

ABOUT  seven  years  ago  I  began  to  dictate 
the  first  of  these  Plays  to  Lady  Gregory. 
My  eyesight  had  become  so  bad  that  I  feared 
I  could  henceforth  write  nothing  with  my 
own  hands  but  verses,  which,  as  Theophile 
Gautier  has  said,  can  be  written  with  a  burnt 
match.  Our  Irish  Dramatic  movement  was 
just  passing  out  of  the  hands  of  English 
Actors,  hired  because  we  knew  of  no  Irish 
ones,  and  our  little  troop  of  Irish  amateurs 
—  as  they  were  at  the  time  —  could  not  have 
too  many  Plays,  for  they  would  come  to 
nothing  without  continued  playing.  Be- 
sides, it  was  exciting  to  discover,  after  the 
unpopularity  of  blank  verse,  what  one  could 
do  with  three  Plays  written  in  prose  and 
founded  on  three  public  interests  deliber- 
ately chosen,  —  religion,  humour,  patriotism. 


2057823 


vi  PREFACE 

I  planned  in  those  days  to  establish  a  dramatic 
movement  upon  the  popular  passions,  as  the 
ritual  of  religion  is  established  in  the  emo- 
tions that  surround  birth  and  death  and 
marriage,  and  it  was  only  the  coming  of 
the  unclassifiable,  uncontrollable,  capricious, 
uncompromising  genius  of  J.  M.  Synge  that 
altered  the  direction  of  the  movement  and 
made  it  individual,  critical,  and  combative. 
If  his  had  not,  some  other  stone  would  have 
blocked  up  the  old  way,  for  the  public  mind 
of  Ireland,  stupefied  by  prolonged  intolerant 
organisation,  can  take  but  brief  pleasure  in 
the  caprice  that  is  in  all  art,  whatever  its 
subject,  and,  more  commonly,  can  but  hate 
unaccustomed  personal  reverie. 

I  had  dreamed  the  subject  of  "  Cathleen  ni 
Houlihan,"  but  found  when  I  looked  for 
words  that  I  could  not  create  peasant  dia- 
logue that  would  go  nearer  to  peasant  life 
than  the  dialogue  in  "  The  Land  of  Heart's 
Desire"  or  "The  Countess  Cathleen." 
Every  artistic  form  has  its  own  ancestry,  and 


PREFACE  Vll 

the  more  elaborate  it  is,  the  more  is  the 
writer  constrained  to  symbolise  rather  than 
to  represent  life,  until  perhaps  his  ladies  of 
fashion  are  shepherds  and  shepherdesses,  as 
when  Colin  Clout  came  home  again.  I 
could  not  get  away,  no  matter  how  closely 
I  watched  the  country  life,  from  images  and 
dreams  which  had  all  too  royal  blood,  for 
they  were  descended  like  the  thought  of 
every  poet  from  all  the  conquering  dreams 
of  Europe,  and  I  wished  to  make  that  high 
life  mix  into  some  rough  contemporary  life 
without  ceasing  to  be  itself,  as  so  many  old 
books  and  Plays  have  mixed  it  and  so  few 
modern,  and  to  do  this  I  added  another 
knowledge  to  my  own.  Lady  Gregory  had 
written  no  Plays,  but  had,  I  discovered,  a 
greater  knowledge  of  the  country  mind  and 
country  speech  than  anybody  I  had  ever 
met  with,  and  nothing  but  a  burden  of  know- 
ledge could  keep  "  Cathleen  ni  Houlihan  " 
from  the  clouds.  I  needed  less  help  for  the 
"  Hour-Glass,"  for  the  speech  there  is  far 


viii  PREFACE 

from  reality,  and  so  the  Play  is  almost 
wholly  mine.  When,  however,  I  brought 
to  her  the  general  scheme  for  the  "Pot  of 
Broth,"  a  little  farce  which  seems  rather 
imitative  to-day,  though  it  plays  well  enough, 
and  of  the  first  version  of  "The  Unicorn," 
"Where  there  is  Nothing,"  a  five-act  Play 
written  in  a  fortnight  to  save  it  from  a 
plagiarist,  and  tried  to  dictate  them,  her 
share  grew  more  and  more  considerable. 
She  would  not  allow  me  to  put  her  name 
to  these  Plays,  though  I  have  always  tried 
to  explain  her  share  in  them,  but  has  signed 
"The  Unicorn  from  the  Stars,"  which  but 
for  a  good  deal  of  the  general  plan  and  a 
single  character  and  bits  of  another  is  wholly 
hers.  I  feel  indeed  that  my  best  share  in 
it  is  that  idea,  which  I  have  been  capable  of 
expressing  completely  in  criticism  alone,  of 
bringing  together  the  rough  life  of  the  road 
and  the  frenzy  that  the  poets  have  found 
in  their  ancient  cellar,  —  a  prophecy,  as  it 
were,  of  the  time  when  it  will  be  once  again 


PREFACE  ix 

possible  for  a  Dickens  and  a  Shelley  to  be 
born  in  the  one  body. 

The  chief  person  of  the  earlier  Play  was 
very  dominating,  and  I  have  grown  to  look 
upon  this  as  a  fault,  though  it  increases  the 
dramatic  effect  in  a  superficial  way.  We 
cannot  sympathise  with  the  man  who  sets 
his  anger  at  once  lightly  and  confidently  to 
overthrow  the  order  of  the  world,  for  such 
a  man  will  seem  to  us  alike  insane  and  arro- 
gant. But  our  hearts  can  go  with  him,  as 
I  think,  if  he  speak  with  some  humility,  so 
far  as  his  daily  self  carry  him,  out  of  a  cloudy 
light  of  vision ;  for  whether  he  understand 
or  not,  it  may  be  that  voices  of  angels  and 
archangels  have  spoken  in  the  cloud,  and 
whatever  wildness  come  upon  his  life,  feet 
of  theirs  may  well  have  trod  the  clusters. 
But  a  man  so  plunged  in  trance  is  of  neces- 
sity somewhat  still  and  silent,  though  it 
be  perhaps  the  silence  and  the  stillness  of 
a  lamp ;  and  the  movement  of  the  Play  as 
a  whole,  if  we  are  to  have  time  to  hear  him, 
must  be  without  hurry  or  violence. 


NOTES 

I  CANNOT  give  the  full  cast  of  "  Cathleen  ni  Houli- 
han," which  was  first  played  at  St.  Teresa's  Hal], 
Dublin,  on  April  3,  1902,  for  I  have  been  searching 
the  cupboard  of  the  Abbey  Theatre,  where  we  keep  old 
Play-bills,  and  can  find  no  record  of  it,  nor  did  the 
newspapers  of  the  time  mention  more  than  the  prin- 
cipals. Mr.  W.  G.  Fay  played  the  old  countryman, 
and  Miss  Quinft  his  wife,  while  Miss  Maude  Gonne 
was  Cathleen  ni  Houlihan,  and  very  magnificently 
she  played.  The  Play  has  been  constantly  revived, 
and  has,  I  imagine,  been  played  more  often  than  any 
other,  except  perhaps  Lady  Gregory's  "  Spreading  the 
News,"  at  the  Abbey  Theatre,  Dublin. 

The  "  Hour-Glass  "  was  first  played  at  the  Moles- 
worth  Hall,  Dublin,  on  March  14,  1903,  with  the 
following  cast :  — 

The  "Wise  Man J.  W.  Digges 

Bridget,  his  wife Maire  T.  Quinn 

Her  children    .    Eithne  and  Padragan  ni  Shiubhleigh 

f  P.  I.  Kelly 

TT  Seumas  O'Sullivan 

H«rPttPjto P.Colum 

[P.  MacShiubhlaigh 

The  Angel Maire  ni  Shiubhlaigh 

The  Fool F.J.  Fay 

xi 


xii  NOTES 

The  Play  has  been  revived  many  times  since  then 
as  a  part  of  the  repertoire  at  the  Abbey  Theatre, 
Dublin. 

"  The  Unicorn  from  the  Stars  "  was  first  played  at 
the  Abbey  Theatre  on  November  23,  1907,  with  the 
following  cast :  — 

Father  John Ernest  Vaughan 

Thomas  Hearne Arthur  Sinclair 

Andrew  Hearne J.  A.  O'Rourke 

Martin  Hearne F.  J.  Fay 

Johnny  Bacach W.  G.  Fay 

Paudeen J.  M.  Kerrigan 

Biddy  Lally Maire  O'Neill 

Nanny Bridget  O'Dempsey 


CONTENTS 


PAC« 

THE  UNICORN  FROM  THE  STARS       ...        1 
By  Lady  Gregory  and  W.  B.  Yeats. 

CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 135 

By  W.  B.  Yeats. 

THE  HOUR-GLASS 169 

By  W.  B.  Yeats. 


xiii 


THE  UNICORN  FROM  THE  STARS 


CHARACTERS 


FATHER  JOHN. 
THOMAS  HEARNE   . 
ANDREW  HEARNE . 
MARTIN  HEARNE    . 
JOHNNY  BAG A CHI 
PAUDEEN 
BIDDY  LALLY 
NANNY 


a  coach  builder, 
his  brother, 
his  nephew. 

beggars. 


ACT  I 


SCENE:  Interior  of  a  coach  builder's  work- 
shop. Parts  of  a  gilded  coach,  among  them 
an  ornament  representing  the  lion  and  the  uni- 
corn. THOMAS  working  at  a  wheel.  FATHER 
JOHN  coming  from  door  of  inner  room. 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  have  prayed  over  Martin. 
I  have  prayed  a  long  time,  but  there  is  no 
move  in  him  yet. 

THOMAS.  You  are  giving  yourself  too 
much  trouble,  Father.  It's  as  good  for  you 
to  leave  him  alone  till  the  doctor's  bottle 
will  come.  If  there  is  any  cure  at  all  for 
what  is  on  him,  it  is  likely  the  doctor  will 
have  it. 


8       THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STABS 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  think  it  is  not  doctor's 
medicine  will  help  him  in  this  case. 

THOMAS.  It  will,  it  will.  The  doctor  has 
his  business  learned  well.  If  Andrew  had 
gone  to  him  the  time  I  bade  him,  and  had 
not  turned  again  to  bring  yourself  to  the 
house,  it  is  likely  Martin  would  be  walking 
at  this  time.  I  am  loth  to  trouble  you, 
Father,  when  the  business  is  not  of  your 
own  sort.  Any  doctor  at  all  should  be 
able,  and  well  able,  to  cure  the  falling 
sickness. 

FATHER  JOHN.  It  is  not  any  common  sick- 
ness that  is  on  him  now. 

THOMAS.  I  thought  at  the  first  it  was 
gone  asleep  he  was.  But  when  shaking  him 
and  roaring  at  him  failed  to  rouse  him,  I 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS       9 

knew  well  it  was  the  falling  sickness.  Be- 
lieve me,  the  doctor  will  reach  it  with  his 
drugs. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Nothing  but  prayer  can 
reach  a  soul  that  is  so  far  beyond  the  world 
as  his  soul  is  at  this  moment. 

THOMAS.  You  are  not  saying  that  the  life 
is  gone  out  of  him ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  No,  no,  his  life  is  in  no 
danger.  But  where  he  himself,  the  spirit, 
the  soul,  is  gone,  I  cannot  say.  It  has  gone 
beyond  our  imaginings.  He  is  fallen  into  a 
trance. 

THOMAS.  He  used  to  be  queer  as  a  child, 
going  asleep  in  the  fields  and  coming  back 
with  talk  of  white  horses  he  saw,  and  bright 
people  like  angels  or  whatever  they  were. 


10      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE   STARS 

But  I  mended  that.  I  taught  him  to  recog- 
nise stones  beyond  angels  with  a  few  strokes 
of  a  rod.  I  would  never  give  in  to  visions 
or  to  trances. 

FATHER  JOHN.  We  who  hold  the  faith 
have  no  right  to  speak  against  trance  or 
vision.  St.  Teresa  had  them,  St.  Bene- 
dict, St.  Anthony,  St.  Columcille.  St.  Cath- 
erine of  Sienna  often  lay  a  long  time  as  if 
dead. 

THOMAS.  That  might  be  so  in  the  olden 
time,  but  those  things  are  gone  out  of  the 
world  now.  Those  that  do  their  work  fair 
and  honest  have  no  occasion  to  let  the  mind 
go  rambling.  What  would  send  my  nephew, 
Martin  Hearne,  into  a  trance,  supposing 
trances  to  be  in  it,  and  he  rubbing  the  gold 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE   STARS    11 

on  the  lion  and  unicorn  that  he  had  taken 
in  hand  to  make  a  good  job  of  for  the  top  of 
the  coach? 

FATHEE  JOHN  [taking  it  up].  It  is  likely  it 
was  that  sent  him  off.  The  flashing  of  light 
upon  it  would  be  enough  to  throw  one  that 
had  a  disposition  to  it  into  a  trance.  There 
was  a  very  saintly  man,  though  he  was  not 
of  our  church,  he  wrote  a  great  book  called 
"Mysterium  Magnum,"  was  seven  days  in  a 
trance.  Truth,  or  whatever  truth  he  found, 
fell  upon  him  like  a  bursting  shower,  and  he 
a  poor  tradesman  at  his  work.  It  was  a  ray 
of  sunlight  on  a  pewter  vessel  that  was  the 
beginning  of  all.  [Goes  to  the  door  of  inner 
room.]  There  is  no  stir  in  him  yet.  It  is 
either  the  best  thing  or  the  worst  thing 


12      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

can  happen  to  anyone  that  is  happening  to 
him  now. 

THOMAS.  And  what  in  the  living  world 
can  happen  to  a  man  that  is  asleep  on  his 
bed? 

FATHER  JOHN.  There  are  some  would  an- 
swer you  that  it  is  to  those  who  are  awake 
that  nothing  happens,  and  it  is  they  that 
know  nothing.  He  is  gone  where  all  have 
gone  for  supreme  truth. 

THOMAS  [sitting  down  again  and  taking  up 
tools].  Well,  maybe  so.  But  work  must  go 
on  and  coach  building  must  go  on,  and  they 
will  not  go  on  the  time  there  is  too  much 
attention  given  to  dreams.  A  dream  is  a 
sort  of  a  shadow,  no  profit  in  it  to  anyone  at 
all.  A  coach  now  is  a  real  thing  and  a  thing 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     13 

that  will  last  for  generations  and  be  made 
use  of  the  last,  and  maybe  turn  to  be  a  hen- 
roost at  its  latter  end. 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  think  Andrew  told  me  it 
was  a  dream  of  Martin's  that  led  to  the  mak- 
ing of  that  coach. 

THOMAS.  Well,  I  believe  he  saw  gold  in 
some  dream,  and  it  led  him  to  want  to  make 
some  golden  thing,  and  coaches  being  the 
handiest,  nothing  would  do  him  till  he  put 
the  most  of  his  fortune  into  the  making  of 
this  golden  coach.  It  turned  out  better 
than  I  thought,  for  some  of  the  lawyers  came 
looking  at  it  at  assize  time,  and  through 
them  it  was  heard  of  at  Dublin  Castle  .  .  . 
and  who  now  has  it  ordered  but  the  Lord 
Lieutenant!  [FATHER  JOHN  nods.]  Ready 


14      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

it  must  be  and  sent  off  it  must  be  by  the  end 
of  the  month.  It  is  likely  King  George  will 
be  visiting  Dublin,  and  it  is  he  himself  will 
be  sitting  in  it  yet. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Martin  has  been  working 
hard  at  it,  I  know. 

THOMAS.  You  never  saw  a  man  work  the 
way  he  did,  day  and  night,  near  ever  since 
the  time,  six  months  ago,  he  first  came  home 
from  France. 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  never  thought  he  would 
be  so  good  at  a  trade.  I  thought  his  mind 
was  only  set  on  books. 

THOMAS.  He  should  be  thankful  to  my- 
self for  that.  Any  person  I  will  take  in 
hand  I  make  a  clean  job  of  them  the  same 
as  I  would  make  of  any  other  thing  in  my 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     15 

yard,  coach,  half  coach,  hackney-coach, 
ass  car,  common  car,  post-chaise,  calash, 
chariot  on  two  wheels,  on  four  wheels. 
Each  one  has  the  shape  Thomas  Hearne  put 
on  it,  and  it  in  his  hands;  and  what  I  can 
do  with  wood  and  iron,  why  would  I  not  be 
able  to  do  it  with  flesh  and  blood,  and  it  in 
a  way  my  own? 

FATHER  JOHN.  Indeed  I  know  you  did 
your  best  for  Martin. 

THOMAS.  Every  best.  Checked  him, 
taught  him  the  trade,  sent  him  to  the  mon- 
astery in  France  for  to  learn  the  language 
and  to  see  the  wide  world ;  but  who  should 
know  that  if  you  did  not  know  it,  Father 
John,  and  I  doing  it  according  to  your  own 
advice  ? 


16      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  thought  his  nature  needed 
spiritual  guidance  and  teaching,  the  best  that 
could  be  found. 

THOMAS.  I  thought  myself  it  was  best 
for  him  to  be  away  for  a  while.  There  are 
too  many  wild  lads  about  this  place.  He  to 
have  stopped  here,  he  might  have  taken 
some  fancies  and  got  into  some  trouble, 
going  against  the  Government,  maybe,  the 
same  as  Johnny  Gibbons  that  is  at  this 
time  an  outlaw  having  a  price  upon  his 
head. 

FATHER  JOHN.  That  is  so.  That  imagi- 
nation of  his  might  have  taken  fire  here  at 
home.  It  was  better  putting  him  with  the 
Brothers,  to  turn  it  to  imaginings  of  heaven. 

THOMAS.  Well,  I  will  soon  have  a  good 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS    17 

hardy  tradesman  made  of  him  now  that  will 
live  quiet  and  rear  a  family,  and  maybe  be 
appointed  coach  builder  to  the  royal  family 
at  the  last. 

FATHER  JOHN  [at  window],  I  see  your 
brother  Andrew  coming  back  from  the 
doctor;  he  is  stopping  to  talk  with  a  troop 
of  beggars  that  are  sitting  by  the  side  of  the 
road. 

THOMAS.  There  now  is  another  that  I 
have  shaped.  Andrew  used  to  be  a  bit  wild 
in  his  talk  and  in  his  ways,  wanting  to  go 
rambling,  not  content  to  settle  hi  the  place 
where  he  was  reared.  But  I  kept  a  guard 
over  him;  I  watched  the  time  poverty  gave 
him  a  nip,  and  then  I  settled  him  into  the 
business.  He  never  was  se  good  a  worker 


18      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS 

as  Martin ;  he  is  too  fond  of  wasting  his  time 
talking  vanities.  But  he  is  middling  handy, 
and  he  is  always  steady  and  civil  to  cus- 
tomers. I  have  no  complaint  worth  while 
to  be  making  this  last  twenty  years  against 
Andrew.  [ANDREW  comes  in.] 

ANDREW.  Beggars  there  are  outside  going 
the  road  to  the  Kinvara  fair.  They  were 
saying  there  is  news  that  Johnny  Gibbons 
is  coming  back  from  France  on  the  quiet. 
The  king's  soldiers  are  watching  the  ports 
for  him. 

THOMAS.  Let  you  keep  now,  Andrew,  to 
the  business  you  have  in  hand.  Will  the 
doctor  be  coming  himself,  or  did  he  send  a 
bottle  that  will  cure  Martin? 

ANDREW.  The  doctor  can't  come,  for  he 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE   STARS    19 

is  down  with  lumbago  in  the  back.  He  ques- 
tioned me  as  to  what  ailed  Martin,  and  he 
got  a  book  to  go  looking  for  a  cure,  and  he 
began  telling  me  things  out  of  it,  but  I  said 
I  could  not  be  carrying  things  of  that  sort 
in  my  head.  He  gave  me  the  book  then,  and 
he  has  marks  put  in  it  for  the  places  where 
the  cures  are  ...  wait  now  .  .  .  [Reads.] 
"Compound  medicines  are  usually  taken 
inwardly,  or  outwardly  applied.  Inwardly 
taken  they  should  be  either  liquid  or  solid; 
outwardly  they  should  be  fomentations  or 
sponges  wet  in  some  decoctions." 

THOMAS.  He  had  a  right  to  have  written 
it  out  himself  upon  a  paper.  Where  is  the 
use  of  all  that  ? 

ANDREW.   I  think  I  moved  the  mark  maybe 


20      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

.  .  .  here  now  is  the  part  he  was  reading  to 
me  himself  .  .  .  "the  remedies  for  diseases 
belonging  to  the  skins  next  the  brain:  head- 
ache, vertigo,  cramp,  convulsions,  palsy, 
incubus,  apoplexy,  falling  sickness." 

THOMAS.  It  is  what  I  bid  you  to  tell  him 
—  that  it  was  the  falling  sickness. 

ANDREW  [dropping  book],  0  my  dear, 
look  at  all  the  marks  gone  out  of  it.  Wait 
now,  I  partly  remember  what  he  said  ...  a 
blister  he  spoke  of  ...  or  to  be  smelling 
hartshorn  ...  or  the  sneezing  powder  .  .  . 
or  if  all  fails,  to  try  letting  the  blood. 

FATHER  JOHN.  All  this  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  real  case.  It  is  all  waste  of  time. 

ANDREW.  That  is  what  I  was  thinking 
myself,  Father.  Sure  it  was  I  was  the  first 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     21 

to  call  out  to  you  when  I  saw  you  coming 
down  from  the  hillside  and  to  bring  you  in 
to  see  what  could  you  do.  I  would  have 
more  trust  in  your  means  than  in  any  doc- 
tor's learning.  And  in  case  you  might  fail  to 
cure  him,  I  have  a  cure  myself  I  heard  from 
my  grandmother  .  .  .  God  rest  her  soul  .  .  . 
and  she  told  me  she  never  knew  it  to  fail. 
A  person  to  have  the  falling  sickness,  to  cut 
the  top  of  his  nails  and  a  small  share  of  the 
hair  of  his  head,  and  to  put  it  down  on  the 
floor  and  to  take  a  harry-pin  and  drive  it 
down  with  that  into  the  floor  and  to  leave 
it  there.  "That  is  the  cure  will  never  fail," 
she  said,  "to  rise  up  any  person  at  all  having 
the  falling  sickness." 
FATHER  JOHN  [hands  on  ears],  I  will  go  back 


22      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

to  the  hillside,  I  will  go  back  to  the  hillside, 
but  no,  no,  I  must  do  what  I  can,  I  will  go 
again,  I  will  wrestle,  I  will  strive  my  best  to 
call  him  back  with  prayer.  [Goes  into  room 
and  shuts  door.] 

ANDREW.  It  is  queer  Father  John  is 
sometimes,  and  very  queer.  There  are  times 
when  you  would  say  that  he  believes  in 
nothing  at  all. 

THOMAS.  If  you  wanted  a  priest,  why  did 
you  not  get  our  own  parish  priest  that  is  a 
sensible  man,  and  a  man  that  you  would 
know  what  his  thoughts  are?  You  know 
well  the  Bishop  should  have  something 
against  Father  John  to  have  left  him  through 
the  years  in  that  poor  mountainy  place, 
minding  the  few  unfortunate  people  that 


THE    UNICOEN    FROM    THE    STABS     23 

were  left  out  of  the  last  famine.  A  man 
of  his  learning  to  be  going  in  rags  the  way 
he  is,  there  must  be  some  good  cause  for  that. 

ANDREW.  I  had  all  that  in  mind  and  I 
bringing  him.  But  I  thought  he  would 
have  done  more  for  Martin  than  what  he  is 
doing.  To  read  a  Mass  over  him  I  thought 
he  would,  and  to  be  convulsed  in  the  read- 
ing it,  and  some  strange  thing  to  have  gone 
out  with  a  great  noise  through  the  doorway. 

THOMAS.  It  would  give  no  good  name  to 
the  place  such  a  thing  to  be  happening  in  it. 
It  is  well  enough  for  labouring  men  and  for 
half-acre  men.  It  would  be  no  credit  at  all 
such  a  thing  to  be  heard  of  in  this  house, 
that  is  for  coach  building  the  capital  of  the 
county. 


24      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE   STABS 

ANDREW.  If  it  is  from  the  devil  this  sick- 
ness comes,  it  would  be  best  to  put  it  out 
whatever  way  it  would  be  put  out.  But 
there  might  no  bad  thing  be  on  the  lad  at 
all.  It  is  likely  he  was  with  wild  compan- 
ions abroad,  and  that  knocking  about  might 
have  shaken  his  health.  I  was  that  way 
myself  one  time.  .  .  . 

THOMAS.  Father  John  said  that  it  was 
some  sort  of  a  vision  or  a  trance,  but  I  would 
give  no  heed  to  what  he  would  say.  It  is 
his  trade  to  see  more  than  other  people 
would  see,  the  same  as  I  myself  might  be 
seeing  a  split  in  a  leather  car  hood  that  no 
other  person  would  find  out  at  all. 

ANDREW.  If  it  is  the  falling  sickness  is  on 
him,  I  have  no  objection  to  that  ...  a  plain, 


THE  UNICORN  FROM  THE  STARS  25 
straight  sickness  that  was  cast  as  a  punish- 
ment on  the  unbelieving  Jews.  It  is  a  thing 
that  might  attack  one  of  a  family  and  one 
of  another  family  and  not  to  come  upon 
their  kindred  at  all.  A  person  to  have  it, 
all  you  have  to  do  is  not  to  go  between  him 
and  the  wind  or  fire  or  water.  But  I  am 
in  dread  trance  is  a  thing  might  run  through 
the  house,  the  same  as  the  cholera  morbus. 

THOMAS.  In  my  belief  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  trance.  Letting  on  people  do  be 
to  make  the  world  wonder  the  time  they 
think  well  to  rise  up.  To  keep  them  to 
their  work  is  best,  and  not  to  pay  much 
attention  to  them  at  all. 

ANDREW.  I  would  not  like  trances  to  be 
coming  on  myself.  I  leave  it  in  my  will  if 


26      THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE    STABS 

I  die  without  cause,  a  holly  stake  to  be  run 
through  my  heart  the  way  I  will  lie  easy 
after  burial,  and  not  turn  my  face  downwards 
in  my  coffin.  I  tell  you  I  leave  it  on  you  in 
my  will. 

THOMAS.  Leave  thinking  of  your  own 
comforts,  Andrew,  and  give  your  mind  to 
the  business.  Did  the  smith  put  the  irons 
yet  on  to  the  shafts  of  this  coach  ? 

ANDREW.  I'll  go  see  did  he. 

THOMAS.  Do  so,  and  see  did  he  make  a 
good  job  of  it.  Let  the  shafts  be  sound  and 
solid  if  they  are  to  be  studded  with  gold. 

ANDREW.  They  are,  and  the  steps  along 
with  them  .  .  .  glass  sides  for  the  people  to 
be  looking  in  at  the  grandeur  of  the  satin 
within  .  .  the  lion  and  the  unicorn  crown- 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     27 

ing  all  .  .  .  it  was  a  great  thought  Martin  had 
the  time  he  thought  of  making  this  coach ! 

THOMAS.  It  is  best  for  me  go  see  the 
smith  myself  .  .  .  and  leave  it  to  no  other 
one.  You  can  be  attending  to  that  ass  car 
out  in  the  yard  wants  a  new  tyre  in  the 
wheel  .  .  .  out  in  the  rear  of  the  yard  it  is. 
[They  go  to  door.]  To  pay  attention  to  every 
small  thing,  and  to  fill  up  every  minute  of 
time,  shaping  whatever  you  have  to  do,  that 
is  the  way  to  build  up  a  business.  [They  go 
out.] 

FATHER  JOHN  [bringing  in  MARTIN].  They 
are  gone  out  now  .  .  .  the  air  is  fresher  here 
in  the  workshop  .  .  .  you  can  sit  here  for 
a  while.  You  are  now  fully  awake;  you 
have  been  in  some  sort  of  a  trance  or  a  sleep. 


28      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

MAKTIN.  Who  was  it  that  pulled  at  me? 
Who  brought  me  back? 

FATHER  JOHN.  It  is  I,  Father  John,  did 
it.  I  prayed  a  long  time  over  you  and 
brought  you  back. 

MARTIN.  You,  Father  John,  to  be  so  un- 
kind !  0  leave  me,  leave  me  alone ! 

FATHER  JOHN.   You  are  in  your  dream  still. 

MARTIN.  It  was  no  dream,  it  was  real  .  .  . 
do  you  not  smell  the  broken  fruit  .  .  .  the 
grapes  .  .  .  the  room  is  full  of  the  smell. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Tell  me  what  you  have 
seen  where  you  have  been. 

MARTIN.  There  were  horses  .  .  .  white 
horses  rushing  by,  with  white,  shining  riders 
.  .  .  there  was  a  horse  without  a  rider,  and 
someone  caught  jme  up  and  put  me  upon 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS    29 

him,  and  we  rode  away,  with  the  wind,  like 
the  wind  .  .  . 

FATHER  JOHN.  That  is  a  common  imagin- 
ing. I  know  many  poor  persons  have  seen 
that. 

MARTIN.  We  went  on,  on,  on  ...  we  came 
to  a  sweet-smelling  garden  with  a  gate  to  it 
.  .  .  and  there  were  wheat-fields  in  full  ear 
around  .  .  .  and  there  were  vineyards  like 
I  saw  in  France,  and  the  grapes  in  bunches 
...  I  thought  it  to  be  one  of  the  town- 
lands  of  heaven.  Then  I  saw  the  horses 
we  were  on  had  changed  to  unicorns,  and 
they  began  trampling  the  grapes  and  break- 
ing them  ...  I  tried  to  stop  them,  but  I 
could  not. 

FATHER  JOHN.  That   is   strange,   that   is 


30      THE    UNICOEN   FEOM    THE    STARS 

strange.  What  is  it  that  brings  to  mind  .  .  . 
I  heard  it  in  some  place,  Monocoros  di  Astris, 
the  Unicorn  from  the  Stars. 

MAETIN.  They  tore  down  the  wheat  and 
trampled  it  on  stones,  and  then  they  tore 
down  what  were  left  of  the  grapes  and 
crushed  and  bruised  and  trampled  them  .  .  . 
I  smelt  the  wine,  it  was  flowing  on  every 
side  .  .  .  then  everything  grew  vague  ...  I 
cannot  remember  clearly  .  .  .  everything  was 
silent  .  .  .  the  trampling  now  stopped  .  .  . 
we  were  all  waiting  for  some  command.  Oh ! 
was  it  given!  I  was  trying  to  hear  it  .  .  . 
there  was  some  one  dragging,  dragging  me 
away  from  that  ...  I  am  sure  there  was 
a  command  given  .  .  .  and  there  was  a  great 
burst  of  laughter.  What  was  it?  What 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS    31 

was  the  command?  Everything  seemed  to 
tremble  around  me. 

FATHER  JOHN.   Did  you  awake  then? 

MARTIN.  I  do  not  think  I  did  ...  it  all 
changed  ...  it  was  terrible,  wonderful.  I 
saw  the  unicorns  trampling,  trampling  .  .  . 
but  not  in  the  wine  troughs.  .  .  .  Oh,  I 
forget !  Why  did  you  waken  me  ? 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  did  not  touch  you. 
Who  knows  what  hands  pulled  you  away? 
I  prayed;  that  was  all  I  did.  I  prayed 
very  hard  that  you  might  awake.  If  I  had 
not,  you  might  have  died.  I  wonder  what 
it  all  meant.  The  unicorns  .  .  .  what  did 
the  French  monk  tell  me  ...  strength  they 
meant  .  .  .  virginal  strength,  a  rushing,  last- 
ing, tireless  strength. 


32      THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE   STARS 

MARTIN.  They  were  strong.  .  .  .  Oh,  they 
made  a  great  noise  with  their  trampling ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  And  the  grapes  .  .  .  what 
did  they  mean?  ...  It  puts  me  in  mind 
of  the  psalm  .  .  .  Ex  calix  meus  inebrians 
quam  praeclarus  est.  It  was  a  strange 
vision,  a  very  strange  vision,  a  very  strange 
vision. 

MARTIN.  How  can  I  get  back  to  that 
place  ? 

FATHER  JOHN.  You  must  not  go  back, 
you  must  not  think  of  doing  that;  that  life 
of  vision,  of  contemplation,  is  a  terrible 
life,  for  it  has  far  more  of  temptation  in  it 
than  the  common  life.  Perhaps  it  would 
have  been  best  for  you  to  stay  under  rules 
in  the  monastery. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS    33 

MARTIN.  I  could  not  see  anything  so 
clearly  there.  It  is  back  here  in  my  own 
place  the  visions  come,  in  the  place  where 
shining  people  used  to  laugh  around  me  and 
I  a  little  lad  in  a  bib. 

FATHER  JOHN.  You  cannot  know  but  it 
was  from  the  Prince  of  this  world  the  vision 
came.  How  can  one  ever  know  unless  one 
follows  the  discipline  of  the  church?  Some 
spiritual  director,  some  wise,  learned  man,  that 
is  what  you  want.  I  do  not  know  enough. 
What  am  I  but  a  poor  banished  priest  with 
my  learning  forgotten,  my  books  never 
handled,  and  spotted  with  the  damp? 

MARTIN.  I  will  go  out  into  the  fields  where 
you  cannot  come  to  me  to  awake  me  ...  I 
will  see  that  townland  again  ...  I  will 


34      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

hear  that  command.  I  cannot  wait,  I  must 
know  what  happened,  I  must  bring  that 
command  to  mind  again. 

FATHER  JOHN  [putting  himself  between 
MARTIN  and  the  door].  You  must  have 
patience  as  the  saints  had  it.  You  are 
taking  your  own  way.  If  there  is  a  com- 
mand from  God  for  you,  you  must  wait  His 
good  time  to  receive  it. 

MARTIN.  Must  I  live  here  forty  years, 
fifty  years  ...  to  grow  as  old  as  my  uncles, 
seeing  nothing  but  common  things,  doing 
work  .  .  .  some  foolish  work? 

FATHER  JOHN.  Here  they  are  coming.  It 
is  time  for  me  to  go.  I  must  think  and  I 
must  pray.  My  mind  is  troubled  about 
you.  [To  THOMAS  as  he  and  ANDREW  come 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     35 

in.]    Here  he  is;  be  very  kind  to  him,  for  he 
has  still  the  weakness  of  a  little  child. 

[Goes  out.] 

THOMAS.  Are  you  well  of  the  fit,  lad  ? 

MARTIN.  It  was  no  fit.  I  was  away  .  .  . 
for  a  while  ...  no,  you  will  not  believe  me 
if  I  tell  you. 

ANDREW.  I  would  believe  it,  Martin.  I 
used  to  have  very  long  sleeps  myself  and 
very  queer  dreams. 

THOMAS.  You  had,  till  I  cured  you,  tak- 
ing you  in  hand  and  binding  you  to  the 
hours  of  the  clock.  The  cure  that  will  cure 
yourself,  Martin,  and  will  waken  you,  is  to 
put  the  whole  of  your  mind  on  to  your 
golden  coach,  to  take  it  in  hand,  and  to 
finish  it  out  of  face. 


36      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

MAETIN.  Not  just  now.  I  want  to  think 
...  to  try  and  remember  what  I  saw, 
something  that  I  heard,  that  I  was  told  to  do. 

THOMAS.  No,  but  put  it  out  of  your  mind. 
There  is  no  man  doing  business  that  can 
keep  two  things  in  his  head.  A  Sunday  or 
a  Holyday  now  you  might  go  see  a  good 
hurling  or  a  thing  of  the  kind,  but  to  be 
spreading  out  your  mind  on  anything  out- 
side of  the  workshop  on  common  days,  all 
coach  building  would  come  to  an  end. 

MARTIN.  I  don't  think  it  is  building  I 
want  to  do.  I  don't  think  that  is  what 
was  in  the  command. 

THOMAS.  It  is  too  late  to  be  saying  that 
the  time  you  have  put  the  most  of  your  for- 
tune in  the  business.  Set  yourself  now  to 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     37 

finish  your  job,  and  when  it  is  ended,  maybe 
I  won't  begrudge  you  going  with  the  coach 
as  far  as  Dublin. 

ANDREW.  That  is  it ;  that  will  satisfy  him. 
I  had  a  great  desire  myself,  and  I  young,  to 
go  travelling  the  roads  as  far  as  Dublin.  The 
roads  are  the  great  things;  they  never  come 
to  an  end.  They  are  the  same  as  the  serpent 
having  his  tail  swallowed  in  his  own  mouth. 

MARTIN.  It  was  not  wandering  I  was 
called  to.  What  was  it?  What  was  it? 

THOMAS.  What  you  are  called  to,  and 
what  everyone  having  no  great  estate  is 
called  to,  is  to  work.  Sure  the  world  itself 
could  not  go  on  without  work. 

MARTIN.  I  wonder  if  that  is  the  great 
thing,  to  make  the  world  go  on.  No,  I  don't 


38      THE    UNICORN    FROM    TEE    STARS 

think  that  is  the  great  thing  .  .  .  what  does 
the  Minister  poet  call  it  ...  "this  crowded 
slippery  coach-loving  world."  I  don't  think 
I  was  told  to  work  for  that. 

ANDREW.  I  often  thought  that  myself. 
It  is  a  pity  the  stock  of  the  Hearnes  to  be 
asked  to  do  any  work  at  all. 

THOMAS.  Rouse  yourself,  Martin,  and  don't 
be  talking  the  way  a  fool  talks.  You  started 
making  that  golden  coach,  and  you  were  set 
upon  it,  and  you  had  me  tormented  about  it. 
You  have  yourself  wore  out  working  at  it 
and  planning  it  and  thinking  of  it,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  race,  when  you  have  the  win- 
ning post  in  sight,  and  horses  hired  for  to 
bring  it  to  Dublin  Castle,  you  go  falling  into 
sleeps  and  blathering  about  dreams,  and  we 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS    39 

run  to  a  great  danger  of  letting  the  profit 
and  the  sale  go  by.  Sit  down  on  the  bench 
now,  and  lay  your  hands  to  the  work. 

MARTIN  [sitting  down}.  I  will  try.  I  won- 
der why  I  ever  wanted  to  make  it ;  it  was  no 
good  dream  set  me  doing  that.  [He  takes 
up  wheel.}  What  is  there  in  a  wooden 
wheel  to  take  pleasure  in  it?  Gilding  it 
outside  makes  it  no  different. 

THOMAS.  That  is  right  now.  You  had  some 
good  plan  for  making  the  axle  run  smooth. 

MARTIN  [letting  wheel  fall  and  putting  his 
hands  to  his  head].  It  is  no  use.  [Angrily.] 
Why  did  you  send  the  priest  to  awake  me? 
My  soul  is  my  own  and  my  mind  is  my  own. 
I  will  send  them  to  where  I  like.  You  have 
no  authority  over  my  thoughts. 


40      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE   STARS 

THOMAS.  That  is  no  way  to  be  speaking 
to  me.  I  am  head  of  this  business.  Nephew 
or  no  nephew,  I  will  have  no  one  come  cold 
or  unwilling  to  the  work. 

MARTIN.  I  had  better  go.  I  am  of  no 
use  to  you.  I  am  going  ...  I  must  be 
alone  ...  I  will  forget  if  I  am  not  alone. 
Give  me  what  is  left  of  my  money,  and  I  will 
go  out  of  this. 

THOMAS  [opening  a  press  and  taking  out 
a  bag  and  throwing  it  to  him].  There  is  what 
is  left  of  your  money !  The  rest  of  it  you 
have  spent  on  the  coach.  If  you  want  to 
go,  go,  and  I  will  not  have  to  be  annoyed 
with  you  from  this  out. 

ANDREW.  Come  now  with  me,  Thomas. 
The  boy  is  foolish,  but  it  will  soon  pass  over. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS    41 

He  has  not  my  sense  to  be  giving  attention 
to  what  you  will  say.  Come  along  now; 
leave  him  for  a  while ;  leave  him  to  me,  I  say ; 
it  is  I  will  get  inside  his  mind. 

[He  leads  THOMAS  out.  MARTIN,  when  they 
have  gone,  sits  down,  taking  up  lion  and 
unicorn.} 

MARTIN.  I  think  it  was  some  shining  thing 
I  saw.  .  .  .  What  was  it  ? 

ANDREW  [opening  door  and  putting  in  his 
head}.  Listen  to  me,  Martin. 

MARTIN.  Go  away — no  more  talking  — 
leave  me  alone. 

ANDREW  [coming  in}.  Oh,  but  wait.  I 
understand  you.  Thomas  doesn't  understand 
your  thoughts,  but  I  understand  them.  Wasn't 
I  telling  you  I  was  just  like  you  once  ? 


42     THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

MARTIN.  Like  me  ?  Did  you  ever  see  the 
other  things,  the  things  beyond  ? 

ANDREW.  I  did.  It  is  not  the  four  walls 
of  the  house  keep  me  content.  Thomas 
doesn't  know,  oh,  no,  he  doesn't  know. 

MARTIN.  No,  he  has  no  vision. 

ANDREW.  He  has  not,  nor  any  sort  of  a 
heart  for  frolic. 

MARTIN.  He  has  never  heard  the  laughter 
and  the  music  beyond. 

ANDREW.  He  has  not,  nor  the  music  of 
my  own  little  flute.  I  have  it  hidden  in  the 
thatch  outside. 

MARTIN.  Does  the  body  slip  from  you  as 
it  does  from  me?  They  have  not  shut 
your  window  into  eternity? 

ANDREW.  Thomas  never  shut  a  window  I 


THE    UNICORN    FROM   THE   STARS    43 

could  not  get  through.  I  knew  you  were 
one  of  my  own  sort.  When  I  am  sluggish 
in  the  morning  Thomas  says,  "Poor  Andrew 
is  getting  old."  That  is  all  he  knows.  The 
way  to  keep  young  is  to  do  the  things  young- 
sters do.  Twenty  years  I  have  been  slipping 
away,  and  he  never  found  me  out  yet ! 

MARTIN.  That  is  what  they  call  ecstasy, 
but  there  is  no  word  that  can  tell  out  very 
plain  what  it  means.  That  freeing  of  the 
mind  from  its  thoughts.  Those  wonders  we 
know;  when  we  put  them  into  words,  the 
words  seem  as  little  like  them  fas  black- 
berries are  like  the  moon  and  sun. 

ANDREW.  I  found  that  myself  the  time 
they  knew  me  to  be  wild,  and  used  to  be 
asking  me  to  say  what  pleasure  did  I  find 
in  cards,  and  women,  and  drink. 


44      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

MARTIN.  You  might  help  me  to  remember 
that  vision  I  had  this  morning,  to  understand 
it.  The  memory  of  it  has  slipped  from  me. 
Wait;  it  is  coming  back,  little  by  little.  I 
know  that  I  saw  the  unicorns  trampling, 
and  then  a  figure,  a  many-changing  figure, 
holding  some  bright  thing.  I  knew  some- 
thing was  going  to  happen  or  to  be  said,  .  .  . 
something  that  would  make  my  whole  life 
strong  and  beautiful  like  the  rushing  of  the 
unicorns,  and  then,  and  then.  .  .  . 

JOHNNY  BACACH'S  VOICE  [at  window].  A 
poor  person  I  am,  without  food,  without  a 
way,  without  portion,  without  costs,  without 
a  person  or  a  stranger,  without  means,  without 
hope,  without  health,  without  warmth.  .  .  . 

ANDREW  [looking  towards  window].  It  is 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE   STABS    45 

that  troop  of  beggars;  bringing  their  tricks 
and  their  thieveries  they  are  to  the  Kin- 
vara  fair. 

MARTIN  [impatiently].  There  is  no  quiet 
.  .  .  come  to  the  other  room.  I  am  trying 
to  remember  .  .  . 

[They  go  to  door  of  inner  room,  but  ANDREW 
stops  him.] 

ANDREW.  They  are  a  bad-looking  fleet. 
I  have  a  mind  to  drive  them  away,  giving 
them  a  charity. 

MARTIN.  Drive  them  away  or  come  away 
from  their  voices. 

ANOTHER  VOICE.  I  put  under  the  power 
of  my  prayer, 

All  that  will  give  me  help, 
Rafael  keep  him  Wednesday; 


46      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

Sachiel  feed  him  Thursday; 
Hamiel  provide  him  Friday; 
Cassiel  increase  him  Saturday. 
Sure  giving  to  us  is  giving  to  the  Lord  and 
laying  up  a  store  in  the  treasury  of  heaven. 

ANDREW.  Whisht !  He  is  coming  in  by  the 
window !  [JOHNNY  B.  climbs  in.] 

JOHNNY  B.  That  I  may  never  sin,  but  the 
place  is  empty ! 

PAUDEEN.  Go  in  and  see  what  can  you 
make  a  grab  at. 

JOHNNY  B.  [getting  in].  That  every  blessing 
I  gave  may  be  turned  to  a  curse  on  them 
that  left  the  place  so  bare !  [He  turns 
things  over.]  I  might  chance  something  in 
this  chest  if  it  was  open.  .  .  .  [ANDREW  be- 
gins creeping  towards  him.] 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS    47 

NANNY  [outside].  Hurry  on  now,  you 
limping  erabfish,  you !  We  can't  be  stopping 
here  while  you'll  boil  stirabout ! 

JOHNNY  B.  [seizing  bag  of  money  and  hold- 
ing it  up  in  both  hands].  Look  at  this  now, 
look !  [ANDREW  comes  behind  and  seizes  his 
arm.] 

JOHNNY  B.  [letting  bag  fall  with  a  crash]. 
Destruction  on  us  all ! 

MARTIN  [running  forward,  seizes  him. 
Heads  disappear].  That  is  it!  Oh,  I  re- 
member! That  is  what  happened!  That 
is  the  command !  Who  was  it  sent  you 
here  with  that  command  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  It  was  misery  sent  me  in  and 
starvation  and  the  hard  ways  of  the  world. 

NANNY   [outside].   It   was  that,  my   poor 


48      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS 

child,  and  my  one  son  only.  Show  mercy  to 
him  now,  and  he  after  leaving  gaol  this 
morning. 

MARTIN  [to  ANDREW].  I  was  trying  to 
remember  it  ...  when  he  spoke  that  word 
it  all  came  back  to  me.  I  saw  a  bright, 
many-changing  figure  ...  it  was  holding  up 
a  shining  vessel  .  .  .  [holds  up  arms]  then 
the  vessel  fell  and  was  broken  with  a  great 
crash  .  .  .  then  I  saw  the  unicorns  tram- 
pling it.  They  were  breaking  the  world  to 
pieces  .  .  .  when  I  saw  the  cracks  coming, 
I  shouted  for  joy!  And  I  heard  the  com- 
mand, "Destroy,  destroy;  destruction  is  the 
life-giver;  destroy." 

ANDREW.  What  will  we  do  with  him? 
He  was  thinking  to  rob  you  of  your  gold. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS    49 

MARTIN.  How  could  I  forget  it  or  mistake 
it?  It  has  all  come  upon  me  now  .  .  .  the 
reasons  of  it  all,  like  a  flood,  like  a  flooded 
river. 

JOHNNY  B.  [weeping].  It  was  the  hunger 
brought  me  in  and  the  drouth. 

MARTIN.  Were  you  given  any  other  mes- 
sage ?  Did  you  see  the  unicorns  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  I  saw  nothing  and  heard  noth- 
ing; near  dead  I  am  with  the  fright  I  got 
and  with  the  hardship  of  the  gaol. 

MARTIN.  To  destroy  ...  to  overthrow  all 
that  comes  between  us  and  God,  between  us 
and  that  shining  country.  To  break  the  wall, 
Andrew,  the  thing,  whatever  it  is  that 
comes  between,  but  where  to  begin  ?  .  .  . 

ANDREW.  What  is  it  you  are  talking  about  ? 


50      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

MARTIN.  It  may  be  that  this  man  is  the 
beginning.  He  has  been  sent  .  .  .  the  poor, 
they  have  nothing,  and  so  they  can  see 
heaven  as  we  cannot.  He  and  his  com- 
rades will  understand  me.  But  now  to  give 
all  men  high  hearts  that  they  may  all  under- 
stand. 

JOHNNY  B.  It's  the  juice  of  the  grey 
barley  will  do  that. 

ANDREW.  To  rise  everybody's  heart,  is  it  ? 
Is  it  that  was  your  meaning  ?  .  .  .  If  you 
will  take  the  blame  of  it  all,  I'll  do  what 
you  want.  Give  me  the  bag  of  money,  then. 
[He  takes  it  up.]  Oh,  I've  a  heart  like  your 
own!  I'll  lift  the  world  too!  The  people 
will  be  running  from  all  parts.  Oh,  it  will  be 
a  great  day  in  this  district. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS    51 

JOHNNY  B.  Will  I  go  with  you  ? 

MAETIN.  No,  you  must  stay  here ;  we  have 
things  to  do  and  to  plan. 

JOHNNY  B.  Destroyed  we  all  are  with  the 
hunger  and  the  drouth. 

MARTIN.  Go  then,  get  food  and  drink, 
whatever  is  wanted  to  give  you  strength  and 
courage;  gather  your  people  together  here; 
bring  them  all  in.  We  have  a  great  thing  to 
do.  I  have  to  begin  ...  I  want  to  tell  it 
to  the  whole  world.  Bring  them  in,  bring 
them  in,  I  will  make  the  house  ready. 


ACT  II 


SCENE:  The  same  workshop  a  few  minutes 
later.  MARTIN  seen  arranging  mugs  and 
bread,  etc.,  on  a  table.  FATHER  JOHN 
comes  in,  knocking  at  open  door  as  he  comes. 

MARTIN.  Come  in,  come  in,  I  have  got  the 
house  ready.  Here  is  bread  and  meat  .  .  . 
everybody  is  welcome.  [Hearing  no  answer, 
turns  round.] 

FATHER  JOHN.  Martin,  I  have  come  back. 
.  .  .  There  is  something  I  want  to  say  to  you. 

MARTIN..  You  are  welcome;  there  are 
others  coming.  .  .  .  They  are  not  of  your 
sort,  but  all  are  welcome. 

FATHER  JOHN.   I  have  remembered  sud- 

55 


56      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS 

denly  something  that  I  read  when  I  was  in 
the  seminary. 

MARTIN.   You  seem  very  tired. 

FATHER  JOHN  [sitting  down}.  I  had  almost 
got  back  to  my  own  place  when  I  thought  of 
it.  I  have  run  part  of  the  way.  It  is  very 
important.  It  is  about  the  trance  that  you 
have  been  in.  When  one  is  inspired  from 
above,  either  in  trance  or  in  contemplation, 
one  remembers  afterwards  all  that  one  has 
seen  and  read.  I  think  there  must  be  some- 
thing about  it  in  St.  Thomas.  I  know  that 
I  have  read  a  long  passage  about  it  years  ago. 
But,  Martin,  there  is  another  kind  of  inspira- 
tion, or  rather  an  obsession  or  possession.  A 
diabolical  power  comes  into  one's  body  or 
overshadows  it.  Those  whose  bodies  are 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     57 

taken  hold  of  in  this  way,  jugglers  and  witches 
and  the  like,  can  often  tell  what  is  happening 
in  distant  places,  or  what  is  going  to  happen, 
but  when  they  come  out  of  that  state,  they 
remember  nothing.  I  think  you  said  — 

MARTIN.  That  I  could  not  remember. 

FATHER  JOHN.  You  remembered  some- 
thing, but  not  all.  Nature  is  a  great  sleep ; 
there  are  dangerous  and  evil  spirits  in  her 
dreams,  but  God  is  above  Nature.  She  is  a 
darkness,  but  He  makes  everything  clear  — 
He  is  light. 

MARTIN.  All  is  clear  now.  I  remember 
all,  or  all  that  matters  to  me.  A  poor  man 
brought  me  a  word,  and  I  know  what  I  have 
to  do. 

FATHER  JOHN.   Ah,  I  understand ;   words 


58      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

were  put  into  his  mouth.  I  have  read  of  such 
things.  God  sometimes  uses  some  common 
man  as  His  messenger. 

MARTIN.  You  may  have  passed  the  man 
who  brought  it  on  the  road.  He  left  me  but 
now. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Very  likely,  very  likely, 
that  is  the  way  it  happened.  Some  plain, 
unnoticed  man  has  sometimes  been  sent  with 
a  command. 

MARTIN.  I  saw  the  unicorns  trampling  in 
my  dream.  They  were  breaking  the  world. 
I  am  to  destroy,  that  is  the  word  the  mes- 
senger spoke. 

FATHER  JOHN.  To  destroy? 

MARTIN.  To  bring  again  the  old  disturbed 
exalted  life,  the  old  splendour. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE   STARS    59 

FATHER  JOHN.  You  are  not  the  first  that 
dream  has  come  to.  [Gets  up  and  walks  up 
and  down.]  It  has  been  wandering  here  and 
there,  calling  now  to  this  man,  now  to  that 
other.  It  is  a  terrible  dream. 

MARTIN.  Father  John,  you  have  had  the 
same  thought. ' 

FATHER  JOHN.  Men  were  holy  then;  there 
were  saints  everywhere,  there  was  rever- 
ence, but  now  it  is  all  work,  business,  how 
to  live  a  long  time.  Ah,  if  one  could  change 
it  all  in  a  minute,  even  by  war  and  violence. 
.  .  .  There  is  a  cell  where  St.  Ciaran  used 
to  pray,  if  one  could  bring  that  time  again. 

MARTIN.  Do  not  deceive  me.  You  have 
had  the  command. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Why  are  you  questioning 


60      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

me?  You  are  asking  me  things  that  I  have 
told  to  no  one  but  my  confessor. 

MARTIN.  We  must  gather  the  crowds 
together,  you  and  I. 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  have  dreamed  your 
dream;  it  was  long  ago.  I  had  your  vision. 

MARTIN.  And  what  happened  ? 

FATHER  JOHN  [harshly].  It  was  stopped. 
That  was  an  end.  I  was  sent  to  the  lonely 
parish  where  I  am,  where  there  was  no  one  I 
could  lead  astray.  They  have  left  me  there. 
We  must  have  patience;  the  world  was  de- 
stroyed by  water,  it  has  yet  to  be  consumed 
by  fire. 

MARTIN.  Why  should  we  be  patient  ?  To 
live  seventy  years,  and  others  to  come  after 
us  and  live  seventy  years  it  may  be,  and  so 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     61 

from  age  to  age,  and  all  the  while  the  old 
splendour  dying  more  and  more. 

[A  noise  of  shouting.  ANDREW,  who  has  been 
standing  at  the  door  for  a  moment,  comes  in.] 

ANDREW.  Martin  says  truth,  and  he  says 
it  well.  Planing  the  side  of  a  cart  or  a  shaft, 
is  that  life?  It  is  not.  Sitting  at  a  desk 
writing  letters  to  the  man  that  wants  a 
coach  or  to  the  man  that  won't  pay  for  the 
one  he  has  got,  is  that  life,  I  ask  you? 
Thomas  arguing  at  you  and  putting  you 
down,  "Andrew,  dear  Andrew,  did  you 
put  the  tyre  on  that  wheel  yet?"  Is  that 
life?  No,  it  is  not.  I  ask  you  all  what  do 
you  remember  when  you  are  dead  ?  It's  the 
sweet  cup  in  the  corner  of  the  widow's  drink- 
ing house  that  you  remember.  Ha,  ha, 


62      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS 

listen  to  that  shouting!  That  is  what  the 
lads  in  the  village  will  remember  to  the  last 
day  they  live ! 

MARTIN.  Why  are  they  shouting?  What 
have  you  told  them  ? 

ANDREW.  Never  you  mind.  You  left  that 
to  me.  You  bade  me  to  lift  their  hearts,  and 
I  did  lift  them.  There  is  not  one  among 
them  but  will  have  his  head  like  a  blazing 
tar  barrel  before  morning.  What  did  your 
friend,  the  beggar,  say?  The  juice  of  the 
grey  barley,  he  said. 

FATHER  JOHN.  You  accursed  villain !  You 
have  made  them  drunk ! 

ANDREW.  Not  at  all,  but  lifting  them  to 
the  stars.  That  is  what  Martin  bade  me  to 
do,  and  there  is  no  one  can  say  I  did  not  do  it. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS    63 

[A  shout  at  door  and  beggars  push  in  a 
barrel  They  all  cry,  "  Hi!  far  the  noble 
master!"  and  point  at  ANDREW.] 

JOHNNY  B.  It's  not  him,  it's  that  one! 
[Points  at  MARTIN.] 

FATHER  JOHN.  Are  you  bringing  this 
devil's  work  in  at  the  very  door?  Go  out  of 
this,  I  say!  Get  out!  Take  these  others 
with  you ! 

MARTIN.  No,  no,  I  asked  them  in;  they 
must  not  be  turned  out.  They  are  my 
guests. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Drive  them  out  of  your 
uncle's  house! 

MARTIN.  Come,  Father,  it  is  better  for 
you  to  go.  Go  back  to  your  own  place.  I 
have  taken  the  command.  It  is  better,  per- 


64      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

haps,  for  you  that  you  did  not  take  it.  [MAR- 
TIN and  FATHER  JOHN  go  out.] 

BIDDY.  It  is  well  for  that  old  lad  he 
didn't  come  between  ourselves  and  our  luck. 
It  would  be  right  to  have  flayed  him  and 
to  have  made  bags  of  his  skin. 

NANNY.  What  a  hurry  you  are  in  to  get 
your  enough !  Look  at  the  grease  on  your 
frock  yet  with  the  dint  of  the  dabs  you 
put  in  your  pocket !  Doing  cures  and  fore- 
tellings,  is  it  ?  You  starved  pot  picker, 
you! 

BIDDY.  That  you  may  be  put  up  to-morrow 
to  take  the  place  of  that  decent  son  of  yours 
that  had  the  yard  of  the  gaol  wore  with  walk- 
ing it  till  this  morning ! 

NANNY.  If  he  had,  he  had  a  mother  to 


THE    UNICORN    FEOM    THE    STARS     65 

come  to,  and  he  would  know  her  when  he 
did  see  her,  and  that  is  what  no  son  of  your 
own  could  do,  and  he  to  meet  you  at  the  foot 
of  the  gallows ! 

JOHNNY  B.  If  I  did  know  you,  I  knew  too 
much  of  you  since  the  first  beginning  of  my 
life !  What  reward  did  I  ever  get  travelling 
with  you?  What  store  did  you  give  me  of 
cattle  or  of  goods?  What  provision  did  I 
get  from  you  by  day  or  by  night  but  your 
own  bad  character  to  be  joined  on  to  my 
own,  and  I  following  at  your  heels,  and  your 
bags  tied  round  about  me  ? 

NANNY.  Disgrace  and  torment  on  you! 
Whatever  you  got  from  me,  it  was  more  than 
any  reward  or  any  bit  I  ever  got  from  the 
father  you  had,  or  any  honourable  thing  at 


66      THE    UNICOEN    FROM    THE    STARS 

all,  but  only  the  hurt  and  the  harm  of  the 
world  and  its  shame  ! 

JOHNNY  B.  What  would  he  give  you,  and 
you  going  with  him  without  leave  ?  Crooked 
and  foolish  you  were  always,  and  you  beg- 
ging by  the  side  of  the  ditch. 

NANNY.  Begging  or  sharing,  the  curse  of  my 
heart  upon  you !  It's  better  off  I  was  before 
ever  I  met  with  you,  to  my  cost !  What  was 
on  me  at  all  that  I  did  not  cut  a  scourge  in 
the  wood  to  put  manners  and  decency  on  you 
the  time  you  were  not  hardened  as  you  are ! 

JOHNNY  B.  Leave  talking  to  me  of  your 
rods  and  your  scourges !  All  you  taught  me 
was  robbery,  and  it  is  on  yourself  and  not 
on  myself  the  scourges  will  be  laid  at  the  day 
of  the  recognition  of  tricks. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    TEE    STARS     67 

PAUDEEN.  Faith,  the  pair  of  you  together 
is  better  than  Hector  fighting  before  Troy  ! 

NANNY.  Ah,  let  you  be  quiet.  It  is  not 
fighting  we  are  craving,  but  the  easing  of  the 
hunger  that  is  on  us  and  of  the  passion  of 
sleep.  Lend  me  a  graineen  of  tobacco 
till  I'll  kindle  my  pipe  — a  blast  of  it  will 
take  the  weight  of  the  road  off  my  heart. 

[ANDREW  gives  her  some.  NANNY  grabs 
at  it.] 

BIDDY.  No,  but  it's  to  myself  you  should 
give  it.  I  that  never  smoked  a  pipe  this 
forty  year  without  saying  the  tobacco  prayer. 
Let  that  one  say,  did  ever  she  do  that  much  ? 

NANNY.  That  the  pain  of  your  front  tooth 
may  be  in  your  back  tooth,  you  to  be  grab- 
bing my  share !  [They  snap  at  tobacco.] 


68      THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE    STABS 

ANDREW.  Pup,  pup,  pup.  Don't  be  snap- 
ping and  quarrelling  now,  and  you  so  well 
treated  in  this  house.  It  is  strollers  like 
yourselves  should  be  for  frolic  and  for  fun. 
Have  you  ne'er  a  good  song  to  sing,  a  song 
that  will  rise  all  our  hearts? 

PAUDEEN.  Johnny  Bacach  is  a  good  singer ; 
it  is  what  he  used  to  be  doing  in  the  fairs,  if 
the  oakum  of  the  gaol  did  not  give  him  a 
hoarseness  in  the  throat. 

ANDREW.  Give  it  out  so,  a  good  song ;  a  song 
will  put  courage  and  spirit  into  any  man  at  all. 
JOHNNY  B.  [singing]. 

Come,  all  ye  airy  bachelors, 
A  warning  take  by  me: 
A  sergeant  caught  me  fowling, 
And  fired  his  gun  so  free. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS    69 

His  comrades  came  to  his  relief, 
And  I  was  soon  trepanned; 
And,  bound  up  like  a  woodcock, 
Had  fallen  into  their  hands. 

The  judge  said  transportation; 
The  ship  was  on  the  strand; 
They  have  yoked  me  to  the  traces 
For  to  plough  Van  Dieman's  land! 

ANDREW.  That's  no  good  of  a  song,  but  a 
melancholy  sort  of  a  song.  I'd  as  lief  be 
listening  to  a  saw  going  through  timber. 
Wait,  now,  till  you  will  hear  myself  giving  out 
a  tune  on  the  flute.  [Goes  out  for  it.] 

JOHNNY  B.  It  is  what  I  am  thinking  there 
must  be  a  great  dearth  and  a  great  scarcity 


70      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

of  good  comrades  in  this  place,  a  man  like 
that  youngster  having  means  in  his  hand 
to  be  bringing  ourselves  and  our  rags  into 
the  house. 

PAUDEEN.  You  think  yourself  very  wise, 
Johnny  Bacach.  Can  you  tell  me  now  who 
that  man  is  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  Some  decent  lad,  I  suppose, 
with  a  good  way  of  living  and  a  mind  to  send 
up  his  name  upon  the  roads. 

PAUDEEN.  You  that  have  been  gaoled  this 
eight  months  know  little  of  this  countryside. 
...  It  isn't  a  limping  stroller  like  your- 
self the  boys  would  let  come  among  them. 
But  I  know.  I  went  to  the  drill  a  few 
nights,  and  I  skinning  kids  for  the  moun- 
tainy  men.  In  a  quarry  beyond  the  drill 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     71 

is  ...  they  have  their  plans  made.  .  .  . 
It's  the  square  house  of  the  Browns  is  to 
be  made  an  attack  on  and  plundered.  Do 
you  know  now  who  is  the  leader  they  are 
waiting  for  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  How  would  I  know  that  ? 

PAUDEEN  [singing]. 
Oh,    Johnny    Gibbons,    my    five    hundred 

healths  to  you. 
It  is  long  you  are  away  from  us  over  the  sea ! 

JOHNNY  B.  [standing  up  excitedly].  Sure 
that  man  could  not  be  John  Gibbons  that  is 
outlawed. 

PAUDEEN.  I  asked  news  of  him  from  the 
old  lad  [points  after  ANDREW],  and  I  bringing 
in  the  drink  along  with  him.  "  Don't  be  ask- 
ing questions,"  says  he;  "take  the  treat  he 


72      TEE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

gives  you,"  says  he.  "If  a  lad  that  had  a 
high  heart  has  a  mind  to  rouse  the  neigh- 
bours," says  he,  "and  to  stretch  out  his 
hand  to  all  that  pass  the  road,  it  is  in  France 
he  learned  it,"  says  he,  "the  place  he  is  but 
lately  come  from,  and  where  the  wine  does 
be  standing  open  in  tubs.  Take  your  treat 
when  you  get  it,"  says  he,  "and  make  no 
delay,  or  all  might  be  discovered  and  put  an 
end  to." 

JOHNNY  B.  He  came  over  the  sea  from 
France!  It  is  Johnny  Gibbons  surely,  but 
it  seems  to  me  they  were  calling  him  by 
some  other  name. 

PAUDEEN.  A  man  on  his  keeping  might 
go  by  a  hundred  names.  Would  he  be  telling 
it  out  to  us  that  he  never  saw  before,  and  we 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     73 

with  that  clutch  of  chattering  women  along 
with  us?  Here  he  is  coming  now.  Wait 
till  you  see  is  he  the  lad  I  think  him  to  be. 

MARTIN  [coming  in].  I  will  make  my  ban- 
ner; I  will  paint  the  Unicorn  on  it.  Give 
me  that  bit  of  canvas;  there  is  paint  over 
here.  We  will  get  no  help  from  the  settled 
men  —  we  will  call  to  the  lawbreakers,  the 
tinkers  —  the  sievemakers  —  the  sheep- 
stealers.  [He  begins  to  make  banner.] 

BIDDY.  That  sounds  to  be  a  queer  name  of 
an  army.  Ribbons  I  can  understand,  White- 
boys,  Rightboys,  Threshers,  and  Peep-o'-day, 
but  Unicorns  I  never  heard  of  before. 

JOHNNY  B.  It  is  not  a  queer  name,  but  a 
very  good  name.  [Takes  up  Lion  and  Uni- 
corn.] It  is  often  you  saw  that  before  you 


74      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

in  the  dock.  There  is  the  Unicorn  with  the 
one  horn,  and  what  is  it  he  is  going  against  ? 
The  Lion  of  course.  When  he  has  the  Lion 
destroyed,  the  Crown  must  fall  and  be 
shivered.  Can't  you  see  ?  It  is  the  League  of 
the  Unicorns  is  the  league  that  will  fight 
and  destroy  the  power  of  England  and  King 
George. 

PAUDEEN.  It  is  with  that  banner  we  will 
march  and  the  lads  in  the  quarry  with  us ;  it 
is  they  will  have  the  welcome  before  him! 
It  won't  be  long  till  we'll  be  attacking  the 
Square  House  !  Arms  there  are  in  it ;  riches 
that  would  smother  the  world;  rooms  full  of 
guineas  —  we  will  put  wax  on  our  shoes 
walking  them;  the  horses  themselves  shod 
with  no  less  than  silver! 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     75 

MARTIN  [holding  up  the  banner].  There  it 
is  ready  !  We  are  very  few  now,  but  the  army 
of  the  Unicorns  will  be  a  great  army !  [To 
JOHNNY  B.]  Why  have  you  brought  me  the 
message?  Can  you  remember  any  more? 
Has  anything  more  come  to  you  ?  Who  told 
you  to  come  to  me  ?  Who  gave  you  the  mes- 
sage? .  .  .  Can  you  see  anything  or  hear 
anything  that  is  beyond  the  world? 

JOHNNY  B.  I  cannot.  I  don't  know 
what  do  you  want  me  to  tell  you  at  all. 

MARTIN.  I  want  to  begin  the  destruction, 
but  I  don't  know  where  to  begin  .  .  .  you 
do  not  hear  any  other  voice  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  I  do  not.  I  have  nothing  at 
all  to  do  with  freemasons  or  witchcraft. 

PAUDEEN.   It  is   Biddy  Lally  has  to  do 


76     THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 
with  witchcraft.     It  is  often  she  threw  the 
cups  and  gave  out  prophecies  the  same  as 
Columcille. 

MARTIN.  You  are  one  of  the  knowledge- 
able women.  You  can  tell  me  where  it  is 
best  to  begin,  and  what  will  happen  in  the 
end. 

BIDDY.  I  will  foretell  nothing  at  all.  I 
rose  out  of  it  this  good  while,  with  the  stiff- 
ness and  the  swelling  it  brought  upon  my 
joints. 

MARTIN.  If  you  have  foreknowledge,  you 
have  no  right  to  keep  silent.  If  you  do  not 
help  me,  I  may  go  to  work  in  the  wrong  way. 
I  know  I  have  to  destroy,  but  when  I  ask 
myself  what  I  am  to  begin  with,  I  am  full  of 
uncertainty. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     77 

PAUDEEN.  Here  now  are  the  cups  handy 
and  the  leavings  in  them. 

BIDDY  [taking  cups  and  pouring  one  from 
another].  Throw  a  bit  of  white  money  into 
the  four  corners  of  the  house. 

MARTIN.   There  !     [Throwing  it.} 

BIDDY.  There  can  be  nothing  told  without 
silver.  It  is  not  myself  will  have  the  profit 
of  it.  Along  with  that  I  will  be  forced  to 
throw  out  gold. 

MARTIN.  There  is  a  guinea  for  you.  Tell 
me  what  comes  before  your  eyes. 

BIDDY.  What  is  it  you  are  wanting  to 
have  news  of? 

MARTIN.  Of  what  I  have  to  go  out  against 
at  the  beginning  .  .  .  there  is  so  much  .  .  . 
the  whole  world,  it  may  be. 


78      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

BIDDY  [throuring  from  one  cup  to  another 
and  looking].  You  have  no  care  for  yourself. 
You  have  been  across  the  sea;  you  are  not 
long  back.  You  are  coming  within  the  best 
day  of  your  life. 

MARTIN.  What  is  it?  What  is  it  I  have 
to  do? 

BIDDY.  I  see  a  great  smoke,  I  see  burning 
.  .  .  there  is  a  great  smoke  overhead. 

MARTIN.  That  means  we  have  to  burn 
away  a  great  deal  that  men  have  piled  up 
upon  the  earth.  We  must  bring  men  once 
more  to  the  wildness  of  the  clean  green  earth. 

BIDDY.  Herbs  for  my  healing,  the  big  herb 
and  the  little  herb;  it  is  true  enough  they 
get  their  great  strength  out  of  the  earth. 

JOHNNY  B.  Who  was  it  the  green  sod  of 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS    79 

Ireland  belonged  to  in  the  olden  times? 
Wasn't  it  to  the  ancient  race  it  belonged? 
And  who  has  possession  of  it  now  but  the 
race  that  came  robbing  over  the  sea?  The 
meaning  of  that  is  to  destroy  the  big  houses 
and  the  towns,  and  the  fields  to  be  given 
back  to  the  ancient  race. 

MARTIN.  That  is  it.  You  don't  put  it  as 
I  do,  but  what  matter  ?  Battle  is  all. 

PAUDEEN.  Columcille  said  the  four  cor- 
ners to  be  burned,  and  then  the  middle  of  the 
field  to  be  burned.  I  tell  you  it  was  Colum- 
cille's  prophecy  said  that. 

BIDDY.  Iron  handcuffs  I  see  and  a  rope 
and  a  gallows,  and  it  maybe  is  not  for  your- 
self I  see  it,  but  for  some  I  have  acquaintance 
with  a  good  way  back. 


80      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

MARTIN.  That  means  the  law.  We  must 
destroy  the  law.  That  was  the  first  sin,  the 
first  mouthful  of  the  apple. 

JOHNNY  B.  So  it  was,  so  it  was.  The  law 
is  the  worst  loss.  The  ancient  law  was  for 
the  benefit  of  all.  It  is  the  law  of  the  Eng- 
lish is  the  only  sin. 

MARTIN.  When  there  were  no  laws  men 
warred  on  one  another  and  man  to  man,  not 
with  one  machine  against  another  as  they  do 
now,  and  they  grew  hard  and  strong  in  body. 
They  were  altogether  alive  like  Him  that 
made  them  in  His  image,  like  people  in 
that  unfallen  country.  But  presently  they 
thought  it  better  to  be  safe,  as  if  safety 
mattered,  or  anything  but  the  exaltation 
of  the  heart  and  to  have  eyes  that  danger 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     81 

had  made  grave  and  piercing.  We  must 
overthrow  the  laws  and  banish  them ! 

JOHNNY  B.  It  is  what  I  say,  to  put  out 
the  laws  is  to  put  out  the  whole  nation  of  the 
English.  Laws  for  themselves  they  made 
for  their  own  profit  and  left  us  nothing  at  all, 
no  more  than  'a  dog  or  a  sow. 

BIDDY.  An  old  priest  I  see,  and  I  would  not 
say  is  he  the  one  was  here  or  another.  Vexed 
and  troubled  he  is,  kneeling  fretting,  and  ever 
fretting,  in  some  lonesome,  ruined  place. 

MARTIN.  I  thought  it  would  come  to  that. 
Yes,  the  church  too  .  .  .  that  is  to  be  de- 
stroyed. Once  men  fought  with  their  de- 
sires and  their  fears,  with  all  that  they  call 

their  sins,  unhelped,  and  their  souls  became 
i 

hard  and  strong.     When  we  have  brought 


82      THE    UNICOBN    FROM    THE    STABS 

back  the  clean  earth  and  destroyed  the  law 
and  the  church,  all  life  will  become  like  a 
flame  of  fire,  like  a  burning  eye.  .  .  .  Oh, 
how  to  find  words  for  it  all  ...  all  that  is 
not  life  will  pass  away ! 

JOHNNY  B.  It  is  Luther's  church  he 
means,  and  the  humpbacked  discourse  of 
Seaghan  Calvin's  Bible.  So  we  will  break  it 
and  make  an  end  of  it. 

MAKTIN  [rising].  We  will  go  out  against 
the  world  and  break  it  and  unmake  it. 
We  are  the  army  of  the  Unicorn  from 
the  Stars!  We  will  trample  it  to  pieces. 
We  will  consume  the  world,  we  will  burn 
it  away.  Father  John  said  the  world  has 
yet  to  be  consumed  by  fire.  Bring  me 
fire. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS      83 

ANDREW.  Here  is  Thomas  coining !  [All 
except  MARTIN  hurry  into  next  room.  THOMAS 
comes  in.] 

THOMAS.  Come  with  me,  Martin.  There  is 
terrible  work  going  on  in  the  town !  There 
is  mischief  gone  abroad  !  Very  strange  things 
are  happening ! 

MARTIN.  What  are  you  talking  of  ?  What 
has  happened? 

THOMAS.  Come  along,  I  say;  it  must  be 
put  a  stop  to !  We  must  call  to  every  decent 
man !  .  .  .  It  is  as  if  the  devil  himself  had 
gone  through  the  town  on  a  blast  and  set 
every  drinking  house  open ! 

MARTIN.  I  wonder  how  that  has  happened. 
Can  it  have  anything  to  do  with  Andrew's 
plan? 


84      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

THOMAS.  Are  you  giving  no  heed  to  what 
I'm  saying  ?  There  is  not  a  man,  I  tell  you, 
in  the  parish,  and  beyond  the  parish,  but  has 
left  the  work  he  was  doing,  whether  in  the 
field  or  in  the  mill. 

MARTIN.  Then  all  work  has  come  to  an 
end?  Perhaps  that  was  a  good  thought  of 
Andrew's. 

THOMAS.  There  is  not  a  man  has  come  to 
sensible  years  that  is  not  drunk  or  drinking ! 
My  own  labourers  and  my  own  serving-man 
are  sitting  on  counters  and  on  barrels !  I 
give  you  my  word  the  smell  of  the  spirits 
and  the  porter  and  the  shouting  and  the 
cheering  within  made  the  hair  to  rise  up  on 
my  scalp. 

MARTIN.  And  there  is  not  one  of  them 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS    85 

that  does  not  feel  that  he  could  bridle  the 
four  winds. 

THOMAS  [sitting  down  in  despair}.  You  are 
drunk,  too.  I  never  thought  you  had  a 
fancy  for  it. 

MARTIN.  It  is  hard  for  you  to  under- 
stand. You  have  worked  all  your  life.  You 
have  said  to  yourself  every  morning,  "What 
is  to  be  done  to-day?"  and  when  you  are 
tired  out  you  have  thought  of  the  next  day's 
work.  If  you  gave  yourself  an  hour's  idle- 
ness, it  was  but  that  you  might  work  the 
better.  Yet  it  is  only  when  one  has  put 
work  away  that  one  begins  to  live. 

THOMAS.  It  is  those  French  wines  that 
did  it. 

MARTIN.   I  have  been  beyond  the  earth, 


86      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

in  paradise,  in  that  happy  townland.  I  have 
seen  the  shining  people.  They  were  all 
doing  one  thing  or  another,  but  not  one  of 
them  was  at  work.  All  that  they  did  was 
but  the  overflowing  of  their  idleness,  and 
their  days  were  a  dance  bred  of  the  secret 
frenzy  of  their  hearts,  or  a  battle  where  the 
sword  made  a  sound  that  was  like  laughter. 

THOMAS.  You  went  away  sober  from  out 
of  my  hands;  they  had  a  right  to  have 
minded  you  better. 

MARTIN.  No  man  can  be  alive,  and  what 
is  paradise  but  fulness  of  life,  if  whatever  he 
sets  his  hand  to  in  the  daylight  cannot  carry 
him  from  exaltation  to  exaltation,  and  if  he 
does  not  rise  into  the  frenzy  of  contempla- 
tion in  the  night  silence.  Events  that  are 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     87 

not  begotten  in  joy  are  misbegotten  and 
darken  the  world,  and  nothing  is  begotten 
in  joy  if  the  joy  of  a  thousand  years  has  not 
been  crushed  into  a  moment. 

THOMAS.  And  I  offered  to  let  you  go  to 
Dublin  in  the  coach!  [ANDREW  and  the 
beggars  have  returned  cautiously.] 

MARTIN  {giving  banner  to  PAUDEEN].  Give 
me  the  lamp.  The  lamp  has  not  yet  been 
lighted,  and  the  world  is  to  be  consumed! 
[Goes  into  inner  room.] 

THOMAS  [seeing  ANDREW].  Is  it  here  you 
are,  Andrew?  What  are  the  beggars  doing? 
Was  this  door  thrown  open,  too?  .  .  .  Why 
did  you  not  keep  order?  I  will  go  for  the 
constables  to  help  us ! 

ANDREW.   You  will  not  find  them  to  help 


88      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

you.  They  were  scattering  themselves 
through  the  drinking  houses  of  the  town; 
and  why  wouldn't  they  ? 

THOMAS.  Are  you  drunk,  too?  You  are 
worse  than  Martin.  You  are  a  disgrace. 

ANDREW.  Disgrace  yourself !  Coming' here 
to  be  making  an  attack  on  me  and  badgering 
me  and  disparaging  me.  And  what  about 
yourself  that  turned  me  to  be  a  hypocrite  ? 

THOMAS.  What  are  you  saying? 

ANDREW.  You  did,  I  tell  you.  Weren't 
you  always  at  me  to  be  regular  and  to  be 
working  and  to  be  going  through  the  day 
and  the  night  without  company  and  to  be 
thinking  of  nothing  but  the  trade  ?  What  did 
I  want  with  a  trade?  I  got  a  sight  of  the 
fairy  gold  one  time  in  the  mountains.  I 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     89 

would  have  found  it  again  and  brought 
riches  from  it  but  for  you  keeping  me  so 
close  to  the  work. 

THOMAS.  Oh,  of  all  the  ungrateful  crea- 
tures !  You  know  well  that  I  cherished  you, 
leading  you  to  live  a  decent,  respectable  life. 

ANDREW.  You  never  had  respect  for  the 
ancient  ways.  It  is  after  the  mother  you 
take  it,  that  was  too  soft  and  too  lumpish, 
having  too  much  of  the  English  in  her  blood. 
Martin  is  a  Hearne  like  myself.  It  is  he  has 
the  generous  heart !  It  is  not  Martin  would 
make  a  hypocrite  of  me  and  force  me  to  do 
night  walking  secretly,  watching  to  be  back 
by  the  setting  of  the  seven  stars  !  [He  begins 
to  play  his  flute.] 

THOMAS.   I  will  turn  you  out  of  this,  your- 


90      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS 

self  and  this  filthy  troop !    I  will  have  them 
lodged  in  gaol. 

JOHNNY  B.  Filthy  troop,  is  it?  Mind 
yourself !  The  change  is  coming !  The  pikes 
will  be  up  and  the  traders  will  go  down ! 

[All  seize  him  and  sing.] 

When  the  Lion  shall  lose  his  strength, 
And  the  braket  thistle  begin  to  pine, — 
The  harp  shall  sound  sweet,  sweet  at  length 
Between  the  eight  and  the  nine ! 

THOMAS.  Let  me  out  of  this,  you  villains ! 

NANNY.  We'll  make  a  sieve  of  holes  of 
you,  you  old  bag  of  treachery ! 

BIDDY.  How  well  you  threatened  us  with 
gaol !  You  skim  of  a  weasel's  milk ! 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS    91 

JOHNNY  B.  You  heap  of  sicknesses  !  You 
blinking  hangman !  That  you  may  never  die 
till  you'll  get  a  blue  hag  for  a  wife  ! 

[MARTIN  comes  back  with  lighted  lamp.] 

MARTIN.  Let  him  go.  [They  let  THOMAS 
go  and  fall  back.]  Spread  out  the  banner. 
The  moment  has  come  to  begin  the  war. 

JOHNNY  B.  Up  with  the  Unicorn  and 
destroy  the  Lion!  Success  to  Johnny  Gib- 
bons and  all  good  men ! 

MARTIN.  Heap  all  those  things  together 
there.  Heap  those  pieces  of  the  coach  one 
upon  another.  Put  that  straw  under  them. 
It  is  with  this  flame  I  will  begin  the  work  of 
destruction.  All  nature  destroys  and  laughs. 

THOMAS.   Destroy  your  own  golden  coach  ! 

MARTIN  [kneeling].   I  am  sorry  to  go  a  way 


92  THE  UNICORN  FROM  THE  STARS 
that  you  do  not  like,  and  to  do  a  thing  that 
will  vex  you.  I  have  been  a  great  trouble 
to  you  since  I  was  a  child  in  the  house, 
and  I  am  a  great  trouble  to  you  yet.  It 
is  not  my  fault.  I  have  been  chosen  for 
what  I  have  to  do.  [Stands  up.]  I  have  to 
free  myself  first  and  those  that  are  near  me. 
The  love  of  God  is  a  very  terrible  thing! 

[THOMAS  tries  to  stop  him,  but  is  prevented 
by  tinkers.  MARTIN  takes  a  wisp  of 
straw  and  lights  it.] 

We  will  destroy  all  that  can  perish !  It  is 
only  the  soul  that  can  suffer  no  injury. 
The  soul  of  man  is  of  the  imperishable  sub- 
stance of  the  stars ! 

[He  throws  his  wisp  into  [the  heap.  It 
blazes  up.] 


ACT  III 


SCENE  :  Before  dawn  a  few  hours  later.  A 
wild,  rocky  place.  NANNY  and  BIDDY 
LALLY  squatting  by  fire.  Rich  stuffs,  etc., 
strewn  about.  PAUDEEN  sitting,  watching 
by  MARTIN,  who  is  lying,  as  if  dead,  a  sack 
over  him. 

NANNY  [to  PAUDEEN].  Well,  you  are  great 
heroes  and  great  warriors  and  great  lads 
altogether  to  have  put  down  the  Browns 
the  way  you  did,  yourselves  and  the  White- 
boys  of  the  quarry.  To  have  ransacked  the 
house  and  have  plundered  it !  Look  at  the 
silks  and  the  satins  and  the  grandeurs  I 
brought  away !  Look  at  tjiat  now !  [Holds 
up  a  velvet  cloak.]  It's  a  good  little  jacket 

95 


96      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

for  myself  will  come  out  of  it.  It's  the  singers 
will  be  stopping  their  songs  and  the  jobbers 
turning  from  their  cattle  in  the  fairs  to  be 
taking  a  view  of  the  laces  of  it  and  the 
buttons!  It's  my  far-off  cousins  will  be 
drawing  from  far  and  near! 

BIDDY.  There  was  not  so  much  gold  in  it 
all  as  what  they  were  saying  there  was.  Or 
maybe  that  fleet  of  Whiteboys  had  the  place 
ransacked  before  we  ourselves  came  in.  Bad 
cess  to  them  that  put  it  in  my  mind  to  go 
gather  up  the  full  of  my  bag  of  horseshoes 
out  of  the  forge.  Silver  they  were  saying 
they  were,  pure  white  silver;  and  what  are 
they  in  the  end  but  only  hardened  iron !  A 
bad  end  to  them !  [Flings  away  horseshoes.] 
The  time  I  will  go  robbing  big  houses  again 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     97 

it  will  not  be  in  the  light  of  the  full  moon 
I  will  go  doing  it,  that  does  be  causing  every 
common  thing  to  shine  out  as  if  for  a  deceit 
and  a  mockery.  It's  not  shining  at  all  they 
are  at  this  time,  but  duck  yellow  and  dark. 

NANNY.  To  leave  the  big  house  blazing 
after  us,  it  was  that  crowned  all!  Two 
houses  to  be  burned  to  ashes  in  the  one  night. 
It  is  likely  the  servant-girls  were  rising  from 
the  feathers,  and  the  cocks  crowing  from  the 
rafters  for  seven  miles  around,  taking  the 
flames  to  be  the  whitening  of  the  dawn. 

BIDDY.  It  is  the  lad  is  stretched  beyond 
you  have  to  be  thankful  to  for  that.  There 
was  never  seen  a  leader  was  his  equal  for 
spirit  and  for  daring !  Making  a  great  scatter 
of  the  guards  the  way  he  did !  Running  up 


98      THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE   STABS 

roofs  and  ladders,  the  fire  in  his  hand,  till 
you'd  think  he  would  be  apt  to  strike  his 
head  against  the  stars. 

NANNY.  I  partly  guessed  death  was  near 
him,  and  the  queer  shining  look  he  had  in  his 
two  eyes,  and  he  throwing  sparks  east  and 
west  through  the  beams.  I  wonder  now 
was  it  some  inward  wound  he  got,  or  did 
some  hardy  lad  of  the  Browns  give  him  a  tip 
on  the  skull  unknownst  in  the  fight  ?  It  was 
I  myself  found  him,  and  the  troop  of  the 
Whiteboys  gone,  and  he  lying  by  the  side  of 
a  wall  as  weak  as  if  he  had  knocked  a  moun- 
tain. I  failed  to  waken  him,  trying  him  with 
the  sharpness  of  my  nails,  and  his  head  fell 
back  when  I  moved  it,  and  I  knew  him  to  be 
spent  and  gone. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE   STARS     99 

BIDDY.  It's  a  pity  you  not  to  have  left 
him  where  he  was  lying,  and  said  no  word  at 
all  to  Paudeen  or  to  that  son  you  have,  that 
kept  us  back  from  following  on,  bringing  him 
here  to  this  shelter  on  sacks  and  upon  poles. 

NANNY.  What  way  could  I  help  letting  a 
screech  out  of  myself  and  the  life  but  just 
gone  out  of  him  in  the  darkness,  and  not  a 
living  Christian  by  his  side  but  myself  and 
the  great  God  ? 

BIDDY.  It's  on  ourselves  the  vengeance  of 
the  red  soldiers  will  fall,  they  to  find  us  sitting 
here  the  same  as  hares  in  a  tuft.  It  would 
be  best  for  us  follow  after  the  rest  of  the  army 
of  the  Whiteboys. 

NANNY.  Whist,  I  tell  you !  The  lads  are 
cracked  about  him.  To  get  but  the  wind  of 


100      THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE    STABS 

the  word  of  leaving  him,  it's  little  but  they'd 
knock  the  head  off  the  two  of  us.    Whist ! 
[Enter  JOHNNY  B.  with  candles.] 

JOHNNY  B.  [standing  over  MARTIN]. 
Wouldn't  you  say  now  there  was  some  malice 
or  some  venom  in  the  air,  that  is  striking 
down  one  after  the  other  the  whole  of  the 
heroes  of  the  Gael? 

PAUDEEN.  It  makes  a  person  be  thinking 
of  the  four  last  ends,  death  and  judgment, 
heaven  and  hell.  Indeed  and  indeed  my 
heart  lies  with  him.  It  is  well  I  knew  what 
man  he  was  under  his  by-name  and  his  dis- 
guise. [Sings.] 
Oh,  Johnny  Gibbons,  it's  you  were  the  prop 

to  us! 
You  to  have  left  us  we  are  put  astray ! 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE   STARS    101 

JOHNNY  B.  It  is  lost  we  are  now  and 
broken  to  the  end  of  our  days.  There  is  no 
satisfaction  at  all  but  to  be  destroying  the 
English ;  and  where  now  will  we  get  so  good 
a  leader  again?  Lay  him  out  fair  and 
straight  upon  a  stone,  till  I  will  let  loose  the 
secret  of  my  heart  keening  him !  [Sets  out 
candles  on  a  rack,  propping  them  with 
stones.] 

NANNY.  Is  it  mould  candles  you  have 
brought  to  set  around  him,  Johnny  Bacach? 
It  is  great  riches  you  should  have  in  your 
pocket  to  be  going  to  those  lengths  and  not 
to  be  content  with  dips. 

JOHNNY  B.  It  is  lengths  I  will  not  be  going 
to  the  time  the  life  will  be  gone  out  of  your 
own  body.  It  is  not  your  corpse  I  will  be 


102     THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

wishful  to  hold  in  honour  the  way  I  hold  this 
corpse  in  honour. 

NANNY.  That's  the  way  always :  there  will 
be  grief  and  quietness  in  the  house  if  it  is  a 
young  person  has  died,  but  funning  and 
springing  and  tricking  one  another  if  it  is 
an  old  person's  corpse  is  in  it.  There  is  no 
compassion  at  all  for  the  old. 

PAUDEEN.  It  is  he  would  have  got  leave 
for  the  Gael  to  be  as  high  as  the  Gall.  Be- 
lieve me,  he  was  in  the  prophecies.  Let  you 
not  be  comparing  yourself  with  the  like  of 
him. 

NANNY.  Why  wouldn't  I  be  comparing 
myself?  Look  at  all  that  was  against  me 
in  the  world;  would  you  be  matching  me 
against  a  man  of  his  sort  that  had  the  people 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STABS     103 

shouting  for  him  and  that  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  die  and  to  go  to  heaven  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  The  day  you  go  to  heaven 
that  you  may  never  come  back  alive  out  of 
it !  But  it  is  not  yourself  will  ever  hear  the 
saints  hammering  at  their  musics !  It  is  you 
will  be  moving  through  the  ages  chains  upon 
you,  and  you  in  the  form  of  a  dog  or  a  mon- 
ster! I  tell  you,  that  one  will  go  through 
purgatory  as  quick  as  lightning  through  a 
thorn  bush. 

NANNY.    That's  the  way,  that's  the  way : 
Three  that  are  watching  my  time  to  run 
The  worm,  the  devil,  and  my  son. 
To  see  a  loop  around  their  neck 
It's  that  would  make  my  heart  to  leap! 
JOHNNY  B.   Five  white  candles.     I  wouldn't 


104      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE   STARS 

begrudge  them  to  him,  indeed.  If  he  had 
held  out  and  held  up,  it  is  my  belief  he  would 
have  freed  Ireland ! 

PAUDEEN.  Wait  tiU  the  full  light  of  the 
day  and  you'll  see  the  burying  he'll  have. 
It  is  not  in  this  place  we  will  be  waking  him. 
I'll  make  a  call  to  the  two  hundred  Ribbons 
he  was  to  lead  on  to  the  attack  on  the  barracks 
at  Aughanish.  They  will  bring  him  march- 
ing to  his  grave  upon  the  hill.  He  had 
surely  some  gift  from  the  other  world,  I 
wouldn't  say  but  he  had  power  from  the 
other  side. 

ANDREW  [coming  in,  very  shaky].  Well,  it 
was  a  great  night  he  gave  to  the  village,  and 
it  is  long  till  it  will  be  forgotten.  I  tell  you 
the  whole  of  the  neighbours  are  up  against 


THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE    STABS    105 

him.  There  is  no  one  at  all  this  morning  to 
set  the  mills  going.  There  was  no  bread 
baked  in  the  night-time;  the  horses  are  not 
fed  in  the  stalls;  the  cows  are  not  milked  in 
the  sheds.  I  met  no  man  able  to  make  a 
curse  this  night  but  he  put  it  on  my  own 
head  and  on  the  head  of  the  boy  that  is  lying 
there  before  us.  ...  Is  there  no  sign  of 
life  in  him  at  all? 

JOHNNY  B.  What  way  would  there  be  a 
sign  of  life  and  the  life  gone  out  of  him  this 
three  hours  or  more? 

ANDREW.  He  was  lying  in  his  sleep  for  a 
while  yesterday,  and  he  wakened  again  after 
another  while. 

NANNY.  He  will  not  waken.  I  tell  you  I 
held  his  hand  in  my  own  and  it  getting  cold 


106      THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE    STARS 

as  if  you  were  pouring  on  it  the  coldest  cold 
water,  and  no  running  in  his  blood.  He  is 
gone  sure  enough,  and  the  life  is  gone  out  of 
him. 

ANDREW.  Maybe  so,  maybe  so.  It  seems 
to  me  yesterday  his  cheeks  were  bloomy  all 
the  while,  and  now  he  is  as  pale  as  wood- 
ashes.  Sure  we  all  must  come  to  it  at  the 
last.  Well,  my  white-headed  darling,  it  is 
you  were  the  bush  among  us  all,  and  you  to 
be  cut  down  in  your  prime.  Gentle  and 
simple,  everyone  liked  you.  It  is  no  narrow 
heart  you  had;  it  is  you  were  for  spending 
and  not  for  getting.  It  is  you  made  a  good 
wake  for  yourself,  scattering  your  estate  in 
one  night  only  in  beer  and  in  wine  for  the 
whole  province ;  and  that  you  may  be  sitting 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     107 

• 

in  the  middle  of  paradise  and  in  the  chair 
of  the  graces ! 

JOHNNY  B.  Amen  to  that.  It's  pity  I 
didn't  think  the  time  I  sent  for  yourself  to 
send  the  little  lad  of  a  messenger  looking  for 
a  priest  to  overtake  him.  It  might  be  in  the 
end  the  Almighty  is  the  best  man  for  us  all ! 

ANDREW.  Sure  I  sent  him  on  myself  to  bid     . 
the  priest  to  come.    Living  or  dead,  I  would 
wish  to  do  all  that  is  rightful  for  the  last  and 
the  best  of  my  own  race  and  generation. 

BIDDY  [jumping  up].  Is  it  the  priest  you 
are  bringing  in  among  us?  Where  is  the 
sense  in  that?  Aren't  we  robbed  enough 
up  to  this  with  the  expense  of  the  candles 
and  the  like? 

JOHNNY  B.  If  it  is  that  poor,  starved  priest 


108      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

he  called  to  that  came  talking  in  secret 
signs  to  the  man  that  is  gone,  it  is  likely  he 
will  ask  nothing  for  what  he  has  to  do. 
There  is  many  a  priest  is  a  Whiteboy  in 
his  heart. 

NANNY.  I  tell  you,  if  you  brought  him 
tied  in  a  bag  he  would  not  say  an  Our 
Father  for  you,  without  you  having  a  half 
crown  at  the  top  of  your  fingers. 

AIDDY.  There  is  no  priest  is  any  good  at 
all  but  a  spoiled  priest;  a  one  that  would 
take  a  drop  of  drink,  it  is  he  would  have 
courage  to  face  the  hosts  of  trouble.  Rout 
them  out  he  would,  the  same  as  a  shoal  of 
fish  from  out  the  weeds.  It's  best  not  to 
vex  a  priest,  or  to  run  against  them  at  all. 

NANNY.   It's    yourself    humbled    yourself 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE   STARS    109 

well  to  one  the  time  you  were  sick  in  the  gaol 
and  had  like  to  die,  and  he  bade  you  to  give 
over  the  throwing  of  the  cups. 

BIDDY.  Ah,  plaster  of  Paris  I  gave  him. 
I  took  to  it  again  and  I  free  upon  the 
roads. 

NANNY.  Much  good  you  are  doing  with  it 
to  yourself  or  any  other  one.  Aren't  you 
after  telling  that  corpse  no  later  than  yester- 
day that  he  was  coming  within  the  best  day 
of  his  life  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  Whist,  let  ye!  Here  is  the 
priest  coming. 

[FATHER  JOHN  comes  in.] 

FATHER  JOHN.  It  is  surely  not  true  that 
he  is  dead? 

JOHNNY    B.  The    spirit    went    from    him 


110      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

about  the  middle  hour  of  the  night.  We 
brought  him  here  to  this  sheltered  place. 
We  were  loth  to  leave  him  without  friends. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Where  is  he  ? 

JOHNNY  B.  [taking  up  sacks].  Lying  there, 
stiff  and  stark.  He  has  a  very  quiet  look,  as 
if  there  was  no  sin  at  all  or  no  great  trouble 
upon  his  mind. 

FATHER  JOHN  [kneels  and  touches  him].  He 
is  not  dead. 

BIDDY  [pointing  to  NANNY].  He  is  dead. 
If  it  was  letting  on  he  was,  he  would  not 
have  let  that  one  rob  him  and  search  him  the 
way  she  did. 

FATHER  JOHN.  It  has  the  appearance  of 
death,  but  it  is  not  death.  He  is  in  a  trance. 

PAUDEEN.    Is  it    heaven    and  hell  he  is 


THE    UNICOEN   FROM    THE    STABS    111 

walking  at  this  time  to  be  bringing  back 
newses  of  the  sinners  in  pain  ? 

BIDDY.  I  was  thinking  myself  it  might 
away  he  was,  riding  on  white  horses  with 
the  riders  of  the  forths. 

JOHNNY  B.  He  will  have  great  wonders  to 
tell  out  the  time  he  will  rise  up  from  the 
ground.  It  is  a  pity  he  not  to  waken  at  this 
time  and  to  lead  us  on  to  overcome  the  troop 
of  the  English.  Sure  those  that  are  in  a 
trance  get  strength  that  they  can  walk  on 
water. 

ANDREW.  It  was  Father  John  wakened  him 
yesterday  the  time  he  was  lying  in  the  same 
way.  Wasn't  I  telling  you  it  was  for  that  I 
called  to  him  ? 

BIDDY.  Waken  him  now  till  they'll  see 


112      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

did  I  tell  any  lie  in  my  foretelling.  I  knew 
well  by  the  signs  he  was  coming  within  the 
best  day  of  his  life. 

PAUDEEN.  And  not  dead  at  all !  We'll  be 
marching  to  attack  Dublin  itself  within  a 
week.  The  horn  will  blow  for  him,  and  all 
good  men  will  gather  to  him.  Hurry  on, 
Father,  and  waken  him. 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  will  not  waken  him.  I 
will  not  bring  him  back  from  where  he  is. 

JOHNNY  B.  And  how  long  will  it  be  before 
he  will  waken  of  himself  ? 

FATHER  JOHN.  Maybe  to-day,  maybe  to- 
morrow; it  is  hard  to  be  certain. 

BIDDY.  If  it  is  away  he  [is,  he  might  be 
away  seven  years.  To  be  lying  like  a  stump 
of  a  tree  and  using  no  food  and  the  world  not 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     113 

able  to  knock  a  word  out  of  him,  I  know  the 
signs  of  it  well. 

JOHNNY  B.  We  cannot  be  waiting  and 
watching  through  seven  years.  If  the  busi- 
ness he  has  started  is  to  be  done,  we  have 
to  go  on  here  and  now.  The  time  there 
is  any  delay,  that  is  the  time  the  Govern- 
ment will  get  information.  Waken  him 
now,  Father,  and  you'll  get  the  blessing  of 
the  generations. 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  will  not  bring  him  back. 
God  will  bring  him  back  in  His  own  good 
time.  For  all  I  know  he  may  be  seeing  the 
hidden  things  of  God. 

JOHNNY  B.  He  might  slip  away  in  his 
dream.  It  is  best  to  raise  him  up  now. 

ANDREW.  Waken    him,    Father    John.     I 


114      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

thought  he  was  surely  dead  this  time;  and 
what  way  could  I  go  face  Thomas  through  all 
that  is  left  of  my  lifetime  after  me  standing 
up  to  face  him  the  way  I  did  ?  And  if  I  do 
take  a  little  drop  of  an  odd  night,  sure  I'd 
be  very  lonesome  if  I  did  not  take  it.  All 
the  world  knows  it's  not  for  love  of  what 
I  drink,  but  for  love  of  the  people  that 
do  be  with  me!  Waken  him,  Father,  or 
maybe  I  would  waken  him  myself.  [Shakes 
him.] 

FATHER  JOHN.  Lift  your  hand  from  touch- 
ing him.  Leave  him  to  himself  and  to  the 
power  of  God. 

JOHNNY  B.  If  you  will  not  bring  him  back, 
why  wouldn't  we  ourselves  do  it?  Go  on 
now,  it  is  best  for  you  to  do  it  yourself. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM   THE   STARS    115 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  woke  him  yesterday. 
He  was  angry  with  me;  he  could  not  get  to 
the  heart  of  the  command. 

JOHNNY  B.  If  he  did  not,  he  got  a  command 
from  myself  that  satisfied  him,  and  a  message. 

FATHER  JOHN.  He  did  ...  he  took  it 
from  you  .  .  .  and  how  do  I  know  what 
devil's  message  it  may  have  been  that 
brought  him  into  that  devil's  work,  destruc- 
tion and  drunkenness  and  burnings!  That 
was  not  a  message  from  heaven!  It  was  I 
awoke  him;  it  was  I  kept  him  from  hearing 
what  was  maybe  a  divine  message,  a  voice 
of  truth;  and  he  heard  you  speak,  and  he 
believed  the  message  was  brought  by  you. 
You  have  made  use  of  your  deceit  and  his 
mistaking  .  .  .  you  have  left  him  without 


116      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STABS 

house  or  means  to  support  him,  you  are 
striving  to  destroy  and  to  drag  him  to  entire 
ruin.  I  will  not  help  you,  I  would  rather  see 
him  die  in  his  trance  and  go  into  God's  hands 
than  awake  him  and  see  him  go  into  hell's 
mouth  with  vagabonds  and  outcasts  like  you ! 

JOHNNY  B.  [turning  to  BIDDY].  You  should 
have  knowledge,  Biddy  Lally,  of  the  means 
to  bring  back  a  man  that  is  away. 

BIDDY.  The  power  of  the  earth  will  do  it 
through  its  herbs,  and  the  power  of  the  air 
will  do  it  kindling  fire  into  flame. 

JOHNNY  B.  Rise  up  and  make  no  delay. 
Stretch  out  and  gather  a  handful  of  an  herb 
that  will  bring  him  back  from  whatever  place 
he  is  in. 

BIDDY.  Where  is  the  use  of  herbs  and  his 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS    117 

teeth  clenched  the  way  he  could  not  use 
them? 

JOHNNY  B.  Take  fire  so  in  the  devil's  name 
and  put  it  to  the  soles  of  his  feet.  [Takes 
lighted  sod  from  fire.] 

FATHER  JOHN.  Let  him  alone,  I  say! 
[Dashes  away  the  sod.] 

JOHNNY.  I  will  not  leave  him  alone!  I 
will  not  give  in  to  leave  him  swooning  there 
and  the  country  waiting  for  him  to  awake ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  tell  you  I  awoke  him  !  I 
sent  him  into  thieves'  company !  I  will  not 
have  him  wakened  again  and  evil  things,  it 
may  be,  waiting  to  take  hold  of  him  !  Back 
from  him,  back,  I  say !  Will  you  dare  to  lay 
a  hand  on  me  ?  You  cannot  do  it !  You 
cannot  touch  him  against  my  will ! 


118      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

BIDDY.  Mind  yourself;  don't  be  bringing 
us  under  the  curse  of  the  church. 

[JOHNNY  falls  back.    MARTIN  moves.] 

FATHER  JOHN.  It  is  God  has  him  in  His 
care.  It  is  He  is  awaking  him.  [MARTIN 
has  risen  to  his  elbow.}  Do  not  touch  him, 
do  not  speak  to  him,  he  may  be  hearing  great 
secrets. 

MARTIN.  That  music,  I  must  go  nearer  .  .  . 
sweet,  marvellous  music  .  .  .  louder  than  the 
trampling  of  the  unicorns  ...  far  louder, 
though  the  mountain  is  shaking  with  their 
feet  .  .  .  high,  joyous  music. 

FATHER  JOHN.  Hush,  he  is  listening  to 
the  music  of  heaven ! 

MARTIN.  Take  me  to  you,  musicians, 
wherever  you  are !  I  will  go  nearer  to  you ; 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE   STABS    119 

I  hear  you  better  now,  more  and  more  joy- 
ful; that  is  strange,  it  is  strange. 

FATHER  JOHN.  He  is  getting  some  secret. 

MARTIN.  It  is  the  music  of  paradise,  that 
is  certain,  somebody  said  that.  It  is  cer- 
tainly the  music  of  paradise.  Ah,  now  I 
hear,  now  I  understand.  It  is  made  of  the 
continual  clashing  of  swords  ! 

JOHNNY  B.  That  is  the  best  music.  We 
will  clash  them  sure  enough.  We  will  clash 
our  swords  and  our  pikes  on  the  bayonets  of 
the  red  soldiers.  It  is  well  you  rose  up  from 
the  dead  to  lead  us  !  Come  on  now,  come  on  ! 

MARTIN.  Who  are  you  ?  Ah,  I  remember. 
.  .  .  Where  are  you  asking  me  to  come 
to? 

PAUDEEN.  To  come  on,  to  be  sure,  to  the 


120      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

attack  on  the  barracks  at  Aughanish.  To 
carry  on  the  work  you  took  in  hand  last 
night. 

MAKTIN.  What  work  did  I  take  in  hand 
last  night?  Oh,  yes,  I  remember  .  .  .  some 
big  house  ...  we  burned  it  down.  .  .  . 
But  I  had  not  understood  the  vision  when  I 
did  that.  I  had  not  heard  the  command 
right.  That  was  not  the  work  I  was  sent 
to  do. 

PAUDEEN.  Rise  up  now  and  bid  us  what 
to  do.  Your  great  name  itself  will  clear  the 
road  before  you.  It  is  you  yourself  will 
have  freed  all  Ireland  before  the  stocks  will 
be  in  stacks ! 

MARTIN.  Listen,  I  will  explain  ...  I  have 
misled  you.  It  is  only  now  I  have  the  whole 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STABS     121 

vision  plain.  As  I  lay  there  I  saw  through 
everything,  I  know  all.  It  was  but  a  frenzy, 
that  going  out  to  burn  and  to  destroy.  What 
have  I  to  do  with  the  foreign  army  ?  What 
I  have  to  pierce  is  the  wild  heart  of  time. 
My  business  is  not  reformation  but  revela- 
tion. 

JOHNNY  B.  If  you  are  going  to  turn  back 
now  from  leading  us,  you  are  no  better 
than  any  other  traitor  that  ever  gave  up 
the  work  he  took  in  hand.  Let  you  come 
and  face  now  the  two  hundred  men  you 
brought  out,  daring  the  power  of  the  law 
last  night,  and  give  them  your  reason  for 
failing  them. 

MARTIN.  I  was  mistaken  when  I  set  out 
to  destroy  church  and  law.  The  battle  we 


122      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

have  to  fight  is  fought  out  in  our  own  minds. 
There  is  a  fiery  moment,  perhaps  once  in  a 
lifetime,  and  in  that  moment  we  see  the  only 
thing  that  matters.  It  is  in  that  moment  the 
great  battles  are  lost  and  won,  for  in  that 
moment  we  are  a  part  of  the  host  of  heaven. 

PAUDEEN.  Have  you  betrayed  us  to  the 
naked  hangman  with  your  promises  and  with 
your  drink?  If  you  brought  us  out  here  to 
fail  us  and  to  ridicule  us,  it  is  the  last  day 
you  will  live ! 

JOHNNY  B.  The  curse  of  my  heart  on  you ! 
It  would  be  right  to  send  you  to  your  own 
place  on  the  flagstone  of  the  traitors  in  hell. 
When  once  I  have  made  an  end  of  you,  I 
will  be  as  well  satisfied  to  be  going  to  my 
death  for  it  as  if  I  was  going  home! 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     123 

MARTIN.  Father  John,  Father  John,  can 
you  not  hear?  Can  you  not  see?  Are  you 
blind  ?  Are  you  deaf  ? 

FATHER  JOHN.  What  is  it?    What  is  it? 

MARTIN.  There  on  the  mountain,  a  thou- 
sand white  unicorns  trampling;  a  thousand 
riders  with  their  swords  drawn  .  .  .  the 
swords  clashing!  Oh,  the  sound  of  the 
swords,  the  sound  of  the  clashing  of  the 
swords !  [He  goes  slowly  off  stage.] 

[JOHNNY  B.  takes  up  a  stone  to  throw  at 
him.] 

FATHER  JOHN  [seizing  his  arm].  Stop  .  .  . 
do  you  not  see  he  is  beyond  the  world  ? 

BIDDY.  Keep  your  hand  off  him,  Johnny 
Bacach.  If  he  is  gone  wild  and  cracked, 
that's  natural.  Those  that  have  been 


124      THE    UNICOEN    FROM    THE    STARS 

wakened  from  a  trance  on  a  sudden  are  apt 
to  go  bad  and  light  in  the  head. 

PAUDEEN.  If  it  is  madness  is  on  him,  it  is 
not  he  himself  should  pay  the  penalty. 

BIDDY.  To  prey  on  the  mind  it  does,  and 
rises  into  the  head.  There  are  some  would 
go  over  any  height  and  would  have  great 
power  in  their  madness.  It  is  maybe  to 
some  secret  cleft  he  is  going  to  get  knowledge 
of  the  great  cure  for  all  things,  or  of  the  Plough 
that  was  hidden  in  the  old  times,  the  Golden 
Plough. 

PAUDEEN.  It  seemed  as  if  he  was  talking 
through  honey.  He  had  the  look  of  one  that 
had  seen  great  wonders.  It  is  maybe  among 
the  old  heroes  of  Ireland  he  went  raising  ar- 
mies for  our  help. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     125 

FATHER  JOHN.  God  take  him  in  His  care 
and  keep  him  from  lying  spirits  and  from  all 
delusions. 

JOHNNY  B.  We  have  got  candles  here, 
Father.  We  had  them  to  put  around  his 
body.  Maybe  they  would  keep  away  the 
evil  things  of  the  air. 

PAUDEEN.  Light  them  so,  and  he  will  say 
out  a  Mass  for  him  the  same  as  in  a  lime- 
washed  church. 

[They  light  the  candles  on  the  rock.  THOMAS 
comes  in.] 

THOMAS.  Where  is  he?  I  am  come  to 
warn  him.  The  destruction  he  did  in  the 
night-time  has  been  heard  of.  The  soldiers 
are  out  after  him  and  the  constables  .  .  . 
there  are  two  of  the  constables  not  far  off  .  . 


126      THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS 

there  are  others  on  every  side  .  .  .  they 
heard  he  was  here  in  the  mountain  .  .  . 
where  is  he? 

FATHER  JOHN.  He  has  gone  up  the  path. 

THOMAS.  Hurry  after  him !  Tell  him  to 
hide  himself  .  .  .  this  attack  he  had  a  hand 
in  is  a  hanging  crime.  .  .  .  Tell  him  to  hide 
himself,  to  come  to  me  when  all  is  quiet  .  .  . 
bad  as  his  doings  are,  he  is  my  own  brother's 
son ;  I  will  get  him  on  to  a  ship  that  will  be 
going  to  France. 

FATHER  JOHN.  That  will  be  best ;  send  him 
back  to  the  Brothers  and  to  the  wise  Bishops. 
They  can  unravel  this  tangle.  I  cannot;  I 
cannot  be  sure  of  the  truth. 

THOMAS.  Here  are  the  constables ;  he  will 
see  them  and  get  away.  .  .  .  Say  no  word. 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     127 

.  .  .    The  Lord  be  praised  that  he  is  out  of 
sight. 

[CONSTABLES  come  in.] 

CONSTABLE.  The  man  we  are  looking  for, 
where  is  he?  He  was  seen  coming  here 
along  with  you.  You  have  to  give  him  up 
into  the  power  of  the  law. 

JOHNNY  B.  We  will  not  give  him  up !  Go 
back  out  of  this  or  you  will  be  sorry. 

PAUDEEN.  We  are  not  in  dread  of  you  or 
the  like  of  you. 

BIDDY.  Throw  them  down  over  the  rocks ! 

NANNY.  Give  them  to  the  picking  of  the 
crows ! 

ALL.   Down  with  the  law ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  Hush !  He  is  coming  back. 
[To  CONSTABLES.]  Stop,  stop  .  .  .  leave  him 


128      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

to  himself.  He  is  not  trying  to  escape ;  he  is 
coming  towards  you. 

PAUDEEN.  There  is  a  sort  of  a  brightness 
about  him.  I  misjudged  him  calling  him  a 
traitor.  It  is  not  to  this  world  he  belongs 
at  all.  He  is  over  on  the  other  side. 

[MARTIN  has  come  in.  He  stands  higher 
than  the  others  upon  some  rocks.] 

MARTIN.  Ex  calix  meus  inebrians  quam 
praeclarus  est ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  I  must  know  what  he  has 
to  say.  It  is  not  from  himself  he  is  speak- 
ing. 

MARTIN.  Father  John,  heaven  is  not  what 
we  have  believed  it  to  be.  It  is  not  quiet ;  it 
is  not  singing  and  making  music  and  all 
strife  at  an  end.  I  have  seen  it,  I  have  been 


THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS     129 

there.  The  lover  still  loves,  but  with  a  greater 
passion ;  and  the  rider  still  rides,  but  the  horse 
goes  like  the  wind  and  leaps  the  ridges ;  and 
the  battle  goes  on  always,  always.  That  is 
the  joy  of  heaven,  continual  battle.  I 
thought  the  battle  was  here,  and  that  the 
joy  was  to  be  found  here  on  earth,  that  all 
one  had  to  do  was  to  bring  again  the  old, 
wild  earth  of  the  stories,  but  no,  it  is  not  here ; 
we  shall  not  come  to  that  joy,  that  battle, 
till  we  have  put  out  the  senses,  everything 
that  can  be  seen  and  handled,  as  I  put  out 
this  candle.  [He  puts  out  candle.]  We  must 
put  out  the  whole  world  as  I  put  out  this 
candle  [he  puts  out  candle];  we  must  put 
out  the  light  of  the  stars  and  the  light  of  the 
sun  and  the  light  of  the  moon  [he  puts  out 


130      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

the  remaining  candles  and  comes  down  to 
where  the  others  are],  till  we  have  brought 
everything  to  nothing  once  again.  I  saw  in 
a  broken  vision,  but  now  all  is  clear  to 
me.  Where  there  is  nothing,  where  there  is 
nothing  .  .  .  there  is  God ! 

CONSTABLE.  Now  we  will  take  him ! 

JOHNNY  B.  We  will  never  give  him  up  to 
the  law ! 

PAUDEEN.  Make  your  escape!  We  will 
not  let  you  be  followed. 

[They  struggle  with  CONSTABLES;  the  women 
help  them  ;  all  disappear,  struggling.  There 
is  a  shot.  MARTIN  falls  dead.  Beggars 
come  back  with  a  shout.] 

JOHNNY  B.  We  have  done  for  them ;  they 
will  not  meddle  with  you  again. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS    131 

PAUDEEN.  Oh,  he  is  down ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  He  is  shot  through  the 
breast.  Oh,  who  has  dared  meddle  with  a 
soul  that  was  in  the  tumults  on  the  threshold 
of  sanctity  ? 

JOHNNY.  It  was  that  gun  went  off  and  I 
striking  it  from  the  constable's  hand. 

MARTIN  [looking  at  his  hand,  on  which 
there  is  blood].  Ah,  that  is  blood !  I  fell 
among  the  rocks.  It  is  a  hard  climb.  It  is 
a  long  climb  to  the  vineyards  of  Eden.  Help 
me  up.  I  must  go  on.  The  Mountain  of 
Abiegnos  is  very  high  .  .  .  but  the  vine- 
yards .  .  .  the  vineyards! 

[He  falls  back,  dead.  The  men  uncover 
their  heads.] 

PAUDEEN  [to  BIDDY].   It  was  you  misled 


132      THE    UNICORN    FROM    THE    STARS 

him  with  your  foretelling  that  he  was  coming 
within  the  best  day  of  his  life. 

JOHNNY  B.  Madness  on  him  or  no  madness, 
I  will  not  leave  that  body  to  the  law  to  be 
buried  with  a  dog's  burial  or  brought  away 
and  maybe  hanged  upon  a  tree.  Lift  him 
on  the  sacks;  bring  him  away  to  the  quarry; 
it  is  there  on  the  hillside  the  boys  will  give 
him  a  great  burying,  coming  on  horses  and 
bearing  white  rods  in  their  hands. 

[They  lift  him  and  carry  the  body  away, 


Our  hope  and   our  darling,  our  heart  dies 

with  you. 

You  to  have  failed  us,  we  are  foals  astray ! 

FATHER  JOHN.  He  is  gone,  and  we  can 

never  know  where  that  vision  came  from. 


THE    UNICORN   FROM    THE    STARS     133 

I  cannot  know ;  the  wise  Bishops  would  have 
known. 

THOMAS  [taking  up  banner].  To  be  shap- 
ing a  lad  through  his  lifetime,  and  he  to  go 
his  own  way  at  the  last,  and  a  queer  way. 
It  is  very  queer  the  world  itself  is,  whatever 
shape  was  put  upon  it  at  the  first ! 

ANDREW.  To  be  too  headstrong  and  too 
open,  that  is  the  beginning  of  trouble.  To 
keep  to  yourself  the  thing  that  you  know,  and 
to  do  in  quiet  the  thing  you  want  to  do, 
there  would  be  no  disturbance  at  all  in  the 
world,  all  people  to  bear  that  in  mind  I 

CURTAIN 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 


CHARACTERS 

PETER  GILLANE. 

(his   son,    going  to  be 
MICHAEL  GILLANE   .        .   \ 

(  married. 

fa   lad   of  twelve,   Mi- 
PATKICK  GILLANE    .        .   \ 

(chaeVs  brother. 

BRIDGET  GILLANE    ....       Peter's  wife. 
DELIA  CAHEL  .        .     engaged  to  MICHAEL. 

THE  POOR  OLD  WOMAN. 
NEIGHBOURS. 


SCENE  :  Interior  of  a  cottage  close  to  Killala, 
in  1798.  BRIDGET  is  standing  at  a  table 
undoing  a  parcel.  PETER  is  sitting  at 
one  side  of  the  fire,  PATRICK  at  the  other. 

PETER.  What  is  that  sound  I  hear? 

PATRICK.  I  don't  hear  anything.  [He 
listens.]  I  hear  it  now.  It's  like  cheering. 
[He  goes  to  the  window  and  looks  out.]  I 
wonder  what  they  are  cheering  about.  I 
don't  see  anybody. 

PETER.   It  might  be  a  hurling  match. 

PATRICK.  There's  no  hurling  to-day.  It 
must  be  down  in  the  town  the  cheering  is. 

139 


140  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

BRIDGET.  I  suppose  the  boys  must  be 
having  some  sport  of  their  own.  Come  over 
here,  Peter,  and  look  at  Michael's  wedding- 
clothes. 

PETER  [shifts  his  chair  to  table].  Those 
are  grand  clothes,  indeed. 

BRIDGET.  You  hadn't  clothes  like  that 
when  you  married  me,  and  no  coat  to  put 
on  of  a  Sunday  any  more  than  any  other 
day. 

PETER.  That  is  true,  indeed.  We  never 
thought  a  son  of  our  own  would  be  wearing 
a  suit  of  that  sort  for  his  wedding,  or  have 
so  good  a  place  to  bring  a  wife  to. 

PATRICK  [who  is  still  at  the  window]. 
There's  an  old  woman  coming  down  the  road. 
I  don't  know,  is  it  here  she's  coming? 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  141 

BRIDGET.  It  will  be  a  neighbour  coming 
to  hear  about  Michael's  wedding.  Can  you 
see  who  it  is? 

PATRICK.  I  think  it  is  a  stranger,  but  she's 
not  coming  to  the  house.  She's  turned 
into  the  gap  that  goes  down  where  Murteen 
and  his  sons  are  shearing  sheep.  [He  turns 
towards  BRIDGET.]  Do  you  remember  what 
Winny  of  the  Cross  Roads  was  saying  the 
other  night  about  the  strange  woman  that 
goes  through  the  country  whatever  time 
there's  war  or  trouble  coming? 

BRIDGET.  Don't  be  bothering  us  about 
Winny's  talk,  but  go  and  open  the  door 
for  your  brother.  I  hear  him  coming  up 
the  path. 

PETER.  I   hope   he   has   brought   Delia's 


142  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

fortune  with  him  safe,  for  fear  her  people 
might  go  back  on  the  bargain  and  I  after 
making  it.  Trouble  enough  I  had  making  it. 

[PATRICK  opens  the  door  and  MICHAEL 
comes  in.} 

BRIDGET.  What  kept  you,  Michael?  We 
were  looking  out  for  you  this  long  time. 

MICHAEL.  I  went  round  by  the  priest's 
house  to  bid  him  be  ready  to  marry  us  to- 
morrow. 

BRIDGET.   Did  he  say  anything? 

MICHAEL.  He  said  it  was  a  very  nice 
match,  and  that  he  was  never  better 
pleased  to  marry  any  two  in  his  parish 
than  myself  and  Delia  Cahel. 

PETER.  Have  you  got  the  fortune, 
Michael  ? 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  143 

MICHAEL.  Here  it  is. 
[He  puts  bag  on  table  and  goes  over  and  leans 
against  the  chimney- jamb.  BRIDGET, 
who  has  been  all  this  time  examining  the 
clothes,  pulling  the  seams  and  trying  the 
lining  of  the  pockets,  etc.,  puts  the  clothes 
on  the  dresser.] 

PETER  [getting  up  and  taking  the  bag  in 
his  hand  and  turning  out  the  money].  Yes, 
I  made  the  bargain  well  for  you,  Michael. 
Old  John  Cahel  would  sooner  have  kept  a 
share  of  this  awhile  longer.  "Let  me  keep 
the  half  of  it  till  the  first  boy  is  born,"  says 
he.  "You  will  not,"  says  I.  "Whether 
there  is  or  is  not  a  boy,  the  whole  hundred 
pounds  must  be  in  Michael's  hands  before 
he  brings  your  daughter  in  the  house." 


144  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

The  wife  spoke  to  him  then,  and  he  gave 
in  at  the  end. 

BRIDGET.  You  seem  well  pleased  to  be 
handling  the  money,  Peter. 

PETER.  Indeed,  I  wish  I  had  had  the 
luck  to  get  a  hundred  pounds,  or  twenty 
pounds  itself,  with  the  wife  I  married. 

BRIDGET.  Well,  if  I  didn't  bring  much 
I  didn't  get  much.  What  had  you  the  day 
I  married  you  but  a  flock  of  hens  and  you 
feeding  them,  and  a  few  lambs  and  you 
driving  them  to  the  market  at  Ballina  ?  [She 
is  vexed  and  bangs  a  jug  on  the  dresser.]  If 
I  brought  no  fortune,  I  worked  it  out  in 
my  bones,  laying  down  the  baby,  Michael 
that  is  standing  there  now,  on  a  stook  of 
straw,  while  I  dug  the  potatoes,  and  never 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  145 

asking  big  dresses  or  anything  but  to  be 
working. 

PETER.  That  is  true,  indeed.  [He  pats 
her  arm.] 

BRIDGET.  Leave  me  alone  now  till  I  ready 
the  house  for  the  woman  that  is  to  come 
into  it. 

PETER.  You  are  the  best  woman  in  Ire- 
land, but  money  is  good,  too.  [He  begins 
handling  the  money  again  and  sits  down.} 
I  never  thought  to  see  so  much  money  within 
my  four  walls.  We  can  do  great  things  now 
we  have  it.  We  can  take  the  ten  acres  of  land 
we  have  a  chance  of  since  Jamsie  Dempsey 
died,  and  stock  it.  We  will  go  to  the  fair 
of  Ballina  to  buy  the  stock.  Did  Delia  ask 
any  of  the  money  for  her  own  use,  Michael? 

L 


146  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

MICHAEL.  She  did  not,  indeed.  She  did 
not  seem  to  take  much  notice  of  it,  or  to 
look  at  it  at  all. 

BRIDGET.  That's  no  wonder.  Why  would 
she  look  at  it  when  she  had  yourself  to  look 
at,  a  fine,  strong  young  man  ?  It  is  proud  she 
must  be  to  get  you,  a  good  steady  boy  that 
will  make  use  of  the  money,  and  not  be  run- 
ning through  it  or  spending  it  on  drink  like 
another. 

PETER.  It's  likely  Michael  himself  was 
not  thinking  much  of  the  fortune  either, 
but  of  what  sort  the  girl  was  to  look 
at. 

MICHAEL  [coming  over  towards  the  table]. 
Well,  you  would  like  a  nice  comely  girl  to 
be  beside  you,  and  to  go  walking  with  you. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  147 

The  fortune  only  lasts  for  a  while,  but  the 
woman  will  be  there  always.  [Cheers.] 

PATRICK  [turning  round  from  the  win- 
dow}. They  are  cheering  again  down  in 
the  town.  Maybe  they  are  landing  horses 
from  Enniscrone.  They  do  be  cheering 
when  the  horses  take  the  water  well. 

MICHAEL.  There  are  no  horses  in  it. 
Where  would  they  be  going  and  no  fair  at 
hand?  Go  down  to  the  town,  Patrick,  and 
see  what  is  going  on. 

PATRICK  [opens  the  door  to  go  out,  but 
stops  for  a  moment  on  the  threshold].  Will 
Delia  remember,  do  you  think,  to  bring  the 
greyhound  pup  she  promised  me  when  she 
would  be  coming  to  the  house? 

MICHAEL.  She  will  surely. 


148  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

[PATRICK  goes  out,  leaving  the  door  open.] 

PETER.  It  will  be  Patrick's  turn  next  to  be 
looking  for  a  fortune,  but  he  won't  find  it  so 
easy  to  get  it  and  he  with  no  place  of  his  own. 

BRIDGET.  I  do  be  thinking  sometimes, 
now  things  are  going  so  well  with  us,  and 
the  Cahels  such  a  good  back  to  us  in  the 
district,  and  Delia's  own  uncle  a  priest,  we 
might  be  put  in  the  way  of  making  Patrick  a 
priest  some  day,  and  he  so  good  at  his  books. 

PETER.  Time  enough,  time  enough;  you 
have  always  your  head  full  of  plans,  Bridget. 

BRIDGET.  We  will  be  well  able  to  give  him 
learning,  and  not  to  send  him  trampling 
the  country  like  a  poor  scholar  that  lives 
on  charity.  [Cheers.] 

MICHAEL.  They're  not  done  cheering  yet. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  149 

[He  goes  over  to  the  door  and  stands  there 
for  a  moment,  putting  up  his  hand  to 
shade  his  eyes.] 

BRIDGET.   Do  you  see  anything? 

MICHAEL.  I  see  an  old  woman  coming  up 
the  path. 

BRIDGET.  Who  is  it,  I  wonder.  It  must  be 
the  strange  woman  Patrick  saw  awhile  ago. 

MICHAEL.  I  don't  think  it's  one  of  the 
neighbours  anyway,  but  she  has  her  cloak 
over  her  face. 

BRIDGET.  It  might  be  some  poor  woman 
heard  we  were  making  ready  for  the  wedding 
and  came  to  look  for  her  share. 

PETER.  I  may  as  well  put  the  money  out 
of  sight.  There  is  no  use  leaving  it  out  for 
every  stranger  to  look  at. 


150  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

[He  goes  over  to  a  large  box  in  the  corner, 
opens  it,  and  puts  the  bag  in  and  fumbles 
at  the  lock.] 

MICHAEL.  There  she  is,  father!  [An  Old 
Woman  passes  the  window  slowly ;  she  looks 
at  MICHAEL  as  she  passes.]  I'd  sooner  a 
stranger  not  to  come  to  the  house  the  night 
before  my  wedding. 

BRIDGET.  Open  the  door,  Michael;  don't 
keep  the  poor  woman  waiting. 

[The  OLD  WOMAN  comes  in.  MICHAEL 
stands  aside  to  make  way  for  her.] 

OLD  WOMAN.      God  save  all  here! 

PETER.  God  save  you  kindly ! 

OLD  WOMAN.  You  have  good  shelter  here. 

PETER.  You  are  welcome  to  whatever 
shelter  we  have. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  151 

BRIDGET.  Sit  down  there  by  the  fire  and 
welcome. 

OLD  WOMAN  [warming  her  hands].  There 
is  a  hard  wind  outside. 

[MICHAEL  watches  her  curiously  from  the 
door.  PETER  comes  over  to  the  table.] 

PETER.   Have  you  travelled  far  to-day? 

OLD  WOMAN.  I  have  travelled  far,  very 
far;  there  are  few  have  travelled  so  far  as 
myself,  and  there's  many  a  one  that  doesn't 
make  me  welcome.  There  was  one  that 
had  strong  sons  I  thought  were  friends  of 
mine,  but  they  were  shearing  their  sheep, 
and  they  wouldn't  listen  to  me. 

PETER.  It's  a  pity  indeed  for  any  person 
to  have  no  place  of  their  own. 

OLD  WOMAN.  That's  true  for  you  indeed, 


152  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

and  it's  long  I'm  on  the  roads  since  I  first 
went  wandering. 

BRIDGET.  It  is  a  wonder  you  are  not  worn 
out  with  so  much  wandering. 

OLD  WOMAN.  Sometimes  my  feet  are 
tired  and  my  hands  are  quiet,  but  there  is 
no  quiet  in  my  heart.  When  the  people 
see  me  quiet,  they  think  old  age  has  come 
on  me  and  that  all  the  stir  has  gone  out  of 
me.  But  when  the  trouble  is  on  me  I  must 
be  talking  to  my  friends. 

BRIDGET.  What  was  it  put  you  wandering  ? 

OLD  WOMAN.  Too  many  strangers  in  the 
house. 

BRIDGET.  Indeed  you  look  as  if  you'd 
had  your  share  of  trouble. 

OLD  WOMAN.   I  have  had  trouble  indeed. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  153 

BRIDGET.  What  was  it  put  the  trouble 
on  you? 

OLD  WOMAN.  My  land  that  was  taken 
from  me. 

PETER.  Was  it  much  land  they  took  from 
you? 

OLD  WOMAN.  My  four  beautiful  green 
fields. 

PETER  [aside  to  BRIDGET].  Do  you  think 
could  she  be  the  widow  Casey  that  was  put 
out  of  her  holding  at  Kilglass  awhile  ago? 

BRIDGET.  She  is  not.  I  saw  the  widow 
Casey  one  time  at  the  market  in  Ballina, 
a  stout  fresh  woman. 

PETER  [to  OLD  WOMAN].  Did  you  hear 
a  noise  of  cheering,  and  you  coming  up  the 
hill? 


154  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

OLD  WOMAN.  I  thought  I  heard  the  noise 
I  used  to  hear  when  my  friends  came  to 
visit  me.  [She  begins  singing  half  to  herself.] 

I  will  go  cry  with  the  woman, 
For  yellow-haired  Donough  is  dead, 
With  a  hempen  rope  for  a  neckcloth, 
And  a  white  cloth  on  his  head, — 

MICHAEL  [coming  from  the  door].  What 
is  that  you  are  singing,  ma'am  ? 

OLD  WOMAN.  Singing  I  am  about  a  man 
I  knew  one  time,  yellow-haired  Donough, 
that  was  hanged  in  Galway.  [She  goes  on 
singing,  much  louder.] 

I  am  come  to  cry  with  you,  woman, 
My  hair  is  unwound  and  unbound; 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  155 

I  remember  him  ploughing  his  field, 
Turning  up  the  red  side  of  the  ground, 

And  building  his  barn  on  the  hill 
With  the  good  mortared  stone; 
0 !  we'd  have  pulled  down  the  gallows 
Had  it  happened  in  Enniscrone ! 

MICHAEL.  What  was  it  brought  him  to 
his  death? 

OLD  WOMAN.  He  died  for  love  of  me: 
many  a  man  has  died  for  love  of  me. 

PETER  [aside   to  BRIDGET].     Her  trouble 
has  put  her  wits  astray. 

MICHAEL.  Is  it  long  since  that  song  was 
made?    Is  it  long  since  he  got  his  death? 

OLD   WOMAN.  Not  long,   not   long.    But 


156  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

there  were  others  that  died  for  love  of  me 
a  long  time  ago. 

MICHAEL.  Were  they  neighbours  of  your 
own,  ma'am? 

OLD  WOMAN.  Come  here  beside  me  and 
I'll  tell  you  about  them.  [MICHAEL  sits 
down  beside  her  at  the  hearth.]  There  was 
a  red  man  of  the  O'Donnells  from  the  north, 
and  a  man  of  the  O'Sullivans  from  the  south, 
and  there  was  one  Brian  that  lost  his  life 
at  Clontarf  by  the  sea,  and  there  were  a  great 
many  in  the  west,  some  that  died  hundreds 
of  years  ago,  and  there  are  some  that  will 
die  to-morrow. 

MICHAEL.  Is  it  in  the  west  that  men  will 
die  to-morrow? 

OLD  WOMAN.  Come  nearer,  nearer  to  me. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  157 

BRIDGET.  Is  she  right,  do  you  think? 
Or  is  she  a  woman  from  beyond  the  world? 

PETER.  She  doesn't  know  well  what  she's 
talking  about,  with  the  want  and  the  trouble 
she  has  gone  through. 

BRIDGET.  The  poor  thing,  we  should  treat 
her  well. 

PETER.  Give  her  a  drink  of  milk  and  a  bit 
of  the  oaten  cake. 

BRIDGET.  Maybe  we  should  give  her  some- 
thing along  with  that,  to  bring  her  on  her 
way.  A  few  pence,  or  a  shilling  itself,  and 
we  with  so  much  money  in  the  house. 

PETER.  Indeed  I'd  not  begrudge  it  to  her  if 
we  had  it  to  spare,  but  if  we  go  running  through 
what  we  have,  we'll  soon  have  to  break  the 
hundred  pounds,  and  that  would  be  a  pity. 


158  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

BRIDGET.  Shame  on  you,  Peter.  Give 
her  the  shilling,  and  your  blessing  with  it, 
or  our  own  luck  will  go  from  us. 

[PETER  goes  to  the  box  and  takes  out  a 
shilling,] 

BRIDGET  [to  the  OLD  WOMAN].  Will 
you  have  a  drink  of  milk? 

OLD  WOMAN.  It  is  not  food  or  drink  that 
I  want. 

PETER  [offering  the  shilling].  Here  is 
something  for  you. 

OLD  WOMAN.  That  is  not  what  I  want. 
It  is  not  silver  I  want. 

PETER.  What  is  it  you  would  be  asking  for  ? 

OLD  WOMAN.  If  anyone  would  give  me 
help  he  must  give  me  himself,  he  must  give 
me  all. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  159 

[PETER  goes  over  to  the  table,  staring  at  the 
shilling  in  his  hand  in  a  bewildered  way, 
and  stands  whispering  to  BRIDGET.] 

MICHAEL.  Have  you  no  one  to  care  you 
in  your  age,  ma'am  ? 

OLD  WOMAN.  I  have  not.  With  all  the 
lovers  that  brought  me  their  love,  I  never 
set  out  the  bed  for  any. 

MICHAEL.  Are  you  lonely  going  the  roads, 
ma'am  ? 

OLD  WOMAN.  I  have  my  thoughts  and  I 
have  my  hopes. 

MICHAEL.  What  hopes  have  you  to  hold 
to? 

OLD  WOMAN.  The  hope  of  getting  my 
beautiful  fields  back  again;  the  hope  of 
putting  the  strangers  out  of  my  house. 


160  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

MICHAEL.  What  way  will  you  do  that, 
ma'am  ? 

OLD  WOMAN.  I  have  good  friends  that 
will  help  me.  They  are  gathering  to  help 
me  now.  I  am  not  afraid.  If  they  are  put 
down  to-day,  they  will  get  the  upper  hand 
to-morrow.  [She  gets  up.]  I  must  be  going 
to  meet  my  friends.  They  are  coming  to 
help  me,  and  I  must  be  there  to  welcome 
them.  I  must  call  the  neighbours  together 
to  welcome  them. 

MICHAEL.  I  will  go  with  you. 

BRIDGET.  It  is  not  her  friends  you  have 
to  go  and  welcome,  Michael;  it  is  the  girl 
coming  into  the  house  you  have  to  welcome. 
You  have  plenty  to  do,  it  is  food  and  drink 
you  have  to  bring  to  the  house.  The  woman 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  161 

that  is  coming  home  is  not  coming  with 
empty  hands ;  you  would  not  have  an  empty 
house  before  her.  [To  the  OLD  WOMAN.] 
Maybe  you  don't  know,  ma'am,  that  my 
son  is  going  to  be  married  to-morrow. 

OLD  WOMAN.  It  is  not  a  man  going  to 
his  marriage  that  I  look  to  for  help. 

PETER  [to  BRIDGET].  Who  is  she,  do 
you  think,  at  all  ? 

BRIDGET.  You  did  not  tell  us  your  name 
yet,  ma'am. 

OLD  WOMAN.  Some  call  me  the  Poor  Old 
Woman,  and  there  are  some  that  call  me 
Cathleen,  the  daughter  of  Houlihan. 

PETER.  I  think  I  knew  someone  of  that 
name  once.  Who  was  it,  I  wonder?  It 
must  have  been  someone  I  knew  when  I 


162  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

was  a  boy.    No,  no,  I  remember,  I  heard 
it  in  a  song. 

OLD  WOMAN  [who  is  standing  in  the 
doorway].  They  are  wondering  that  there 
were  songs  made  for  me;  there  have  been 
many  songs  made  for  me.  I  heard  one  on 
the  wind  this  morning.  [She  sings.] 

Do  not  make  a  great  keening 

When  the  graves  have  been  dug  to-morrow. 

Do  not  call  the  white-scarfed  riders 

To  the  burying  that  shall  be  to-morrow. 

Do  not  spread  food  to  call  strangers 

To  the  wakes  that  shall  be  to-morrow; 

Do  not  give  money  for  prayers 

For  the  dead  that  shall  die  to-morrow  .  .  . 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  163 

they  will  have  no  need  of  prayers,  they  will 
have  no  need  of  prayers. 

MICHAEL.  I  do  not  know  what  that  song 
means,  but  tell  me  something  I  can  do  for  you. 

PETER.   Come  over  to  me,  Michael. 

MICHAEL.   Hush,  father,  listen  to  her. 

OLD  WOMA&.  It  is  a  hard  service  they 
take  that  help  me.  Many  that  are  red- 
cheeked  now  will  be  pale-cheeked;  many 
that  have  been  free  to  walk  the  hills  and  the 
bogs  and  the  rushes  will  be  sent  to  walk 
hard  streets  in  far  countries;  many  a  good 
plan  will  be  broken;  many  that  have 
gathered  money  will  not  stay  to  spend  it; 
many  a  child  will  be  born,  and  there  will  be 
no  father  at  its  christening  to  give  it  a  name. 
They  that  had  red  cheeks  will  have  pale 


164  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

cheeks  for  my  sake;   and  for  all  that,  they 
will  think  they  are  well  paid. 
[She  goes  out;  her  voice  is  heard  outside 
singing.] 

They  shall  be  remembered  for  ever, 
They  shall  be  alive  for  ever, 
They  shall  be  speaking  for  ever, 
The  people  shall  hear  them  for  ever. 

BRIDGET  [to  PETER].  Look  at  him, 
Peter ;  he  has  the  look  of  a  man  that  has  got 
the  touch.  [Raising  her  voice.]  Look  here, 
Michael,  at  the  wedding-clothes.  Such  grand 
clothes  as  these  are.  You  have  a  right  to 
fit  them  on  now;  it  would  be  a  pity  to- 
morrow if  they  did  not  fit.  The  boys  would 
be  laughing  at  you.  Take  them,  Michael, 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  165 

and  go  into  the  room  and  fit  them  on.  [She 
puts  them  on  his  arm.] 

MICHAEL.  What  wedding  are  you  talk- 
ing of?  What  clothes  will  I  be  wearing 
to-morrow  ? 

BRIDGET.  These  are  the  clothes  you  are 
going  to  wear  when  you  marry  Delia  Cahel 
to-morrow. 

MICHAEL.   I  had  forgotten  that. 

[He  looks  at  the  clothes  and  turns  towards 
the  inner  room,  but  stops  at  the  sound  of 
cheering  outside.] 

PETER.  There  is  the  shouting  come  to 
our  own  door.  What  is  it  has  happened? 

[PATRICK  and  DELIA  come  in.] 

PATRICK.  There  are  ships  in  the  Bay ;  the 
French  are  landing  at  Killala ! 


166  CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN 

[PETER  takes  his  pipe  from  his  mouth  and 
his  hat  off,  and  stands  up.  The  clothes 
slip  from  MICHAEL'S  arm.] 

DELIA.  Michael!  [He  takes  no  notice.] 
Michael !  [He  turns  towards  her.]  Why  do 
you  look  at  me  like  a  stranger  ? 

[She  drops  his  arm.  BRIDGET  goes  over 
towards  her.] 

PATRICK.  The  boys  are  all  hurrying  down 
the  hillsides  to  join  the  French. 

DELIA.  Michael  won't  be  going  to  join 
the  French. 

BRIDGET  [to  PETER].  Tell  him  not  to 
go,  Peter. 

PETER.  It's  no  use.  He  doesn't  hear  a 
word  we're  saying. 

BRIDGET.  Try  and  coax  him  over  to  the  fire. 


CATHLEEN  NI  HOULIHAN  167 

DELIA.  Michael !  Michael !  You  won't 
leave  me!  You  won't  join  the  French,  and 
we  going  to  be  married ! 

[She  puts  her  arms  about  him;  he  turns 
towards  her  as  if  about  to  yield.  OLD 
WOMAN'S  voice  outside.] 

They  shall  be  speaking  for  ever, 
The  people  shall  hear  them  for  ever. 

[MICHAEL  breaks  away  from  DELIA  and 
goes  out.] 

PETER  [to  PATRICK,  laying  a  hand  on 
his  arm].  Did  you  see  an  old  woman  going 
down  the  path  ? 

PATRICK.  I  did  not,  but  I  saw  a  young 
girl,  and  she  had  the  walk  of  a  queen. 


THE  HOUR-GLASS: 
A  MORALITY 


CHARACTERS 

A  WISE   MAN.  SOME  PUPILS. 

A  FOOL.  AN  ANGEL. 

THE  WISE  MAN'S  WIFE  AND  TWO  CHILDREN. 


SCENE:  A  large  room  with  a  door  at  the  back 
and  another  at  the  side  or  else  a  curtained 
place  where  the  persons  can  enter  by  parting 
the  curtains.  A  desk  and  a  chair  at  one  side. 
An  hour-glass  on  a  stand  near  the  door. 
A  creepy  stool  near  it.  Some  benches.  A 
Wise  Man  sitting  at  his  desk. 

WISE  M.  [turning  over  the  pages  of  a 
book].  Where  is  that  passage  I  am  to  explain 
to  my  pupils  to-day?  Here  it  is,  and  the 
book  says  that  it  was  written  by  a  beggar  on 
the  walls  of  Babylon:  "There  are  two  living 

countries,  the  one  visible  and  the  one  in- 
ns 


174  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

visible;  and  when  it  is  winter  with  us  it  is 
summer  in  that  country,  and  when  the  No- 
vember winds  are  up  among  us  it  is  lamb- 
ing time  there."  I  wish  that  my  pupils  had 
asked  me  to  explain  any  other  passage. 
[The  FOOL  comes  in  and  stands  at  the  door 
holding  out  his  hat.  He  has  a  pair  of  shears 
in  the  other  hand.]  It  sounds  to  me  like 
foolishness;  and  yet  that  cannot  be,  for 
the  writer  of  this  book,  where  I  have  found 
so  much  knowledge,  would  not  have  set 
it  by  itself  on  this  page,  and  surrounded  it 
with  so  many  images  and  so  many  deep 
colours  and  so  much  fine  gilding,  if  it  had 
been  foolishness. 

FOOL.  Give  me  a  penny. 

WISE  M.   [turns  to    another    page].    Here 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  175 

he  has  written:  "The  learned  in  old  times 
forgot  the  visible  country."  That  I  under- 
stand, but  I  have  taught  my  learners  better. 

FOOL.  Won't  you  give  me  a  penny? 

WISE  M.  What  do  you  want  ?  The  words 
of  the  wise  Saracen  will  not  teach  you  much. 

FOOL.  Such  a  great  wise  teacher  as  you 
are  will  not  refuse  a  penny  to  a  Fool. 

WISE  M.  What  do  you  know  about  wisdom  ? 

FOOL.  Oh,  I  know !  I  know  what  I  have 
seen. 

WISE  M.  What  is  it  you  have  seen? 

FOOL.  When  I  went  by  Kilcluan  where 
the  bells  used  to  be  ringing  at  the  break 
of  every  day,  I  could  hear  nothing  but  the 
people  snoring  in  their  houses.  When  I 
went  by  Tubbervanach  where  the  young 


176  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

men  used  to  be  climbing  the  hill  to  the 
blessed  well,  they  were  sitting  at  the  cross- 
roads playing  cards.  When  I  went  by  Car- 
rigoras,  where  the  friars  used  to  be  fasting 
and  serving  the  poor,  I  saw  them  drinking 
wine  and  obeying  their  wives.  And  when 
I  asked  what  misfortune  had  brought  all 
these  changes,  they  said  it  was  no  misfor- 
tune, but  it  was  the  wisdom  they  had  learned 
from  your  teaching. 

WISE  M.  Run  round  to  the  kitchen,  and 
my  wife  will  give  you  something  to  eat. 

FOOL.  That  is  foolish  advice  for  a  wise 
man  to  give. 

WISE  M.  Why,  Fool? 

FOOL.  What  is  eaten  is  gone.  I  want 
pennies  for  my  bag.  I  must  buy  bacon  in 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  177 

the  shops,  and  nuts  in  the  market,  and 
strong  drink  for  the  time  when  the  sun  is 
weak.  And  I  want  snares  to  catch  the  rab- 
bits and  the  squirrels  and  the  hares,  and  a 
pot  to  cook  them  in. 

WISE  M.  Go  away.  I  have  other  things 
to  think  of  now  than  giving  you  pennies. 

FOOL.  Give  me  a  penny  and  I  will  bring 
you  luck.  Bresal  the  Fisherman  lets  me 
sleep  among  the  nets  in  his  loft  in  the  winter- 
time because  he  says  I  bring  him  luck;  and 
in  the  summer-time  the  wild  creatures  let 
me  sleep  near  their  nests  and  their  holes. 
It  is  lucky  even  to  look  at  me  or  to  touch 
me,  but  it  is  much  more  lucky  to  give  me  a 
penny.  [Holds  out  his  hand.]  If  I  wasn't 
lucky,  I'd  starve. 

N 


178  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

WISE  M.  What  have  you  got  the  shears  for  ? 

FOOL.  I  won't  tell  you.  If  I  told  you, 
you  would  drive  them  away. 

WISE  M.   Whom  would  I  drive  away  ? 

FOOL.  I  won't  tell  you. 

WISE  M.  Not  if  I  give  you  a  penny? 

FOOL.  No. 

WISE  M.   Not  if  I  give  you  two  pennies? 

FOOL.  You  will  be  very  lucky  if  you  give 
me  two  pennies,  but  I  won't  tell  you ! 

WISE  M.  Three  pennies? 

FOOL.  Four,  and  I  will  tell  you ! 

WISE  M.  Very  well,  four.  But  I  will  not 
call  you  Teigue  the  Fool  any  longer. 

FOOL.  Let  me  come  close  to  you  where 
nobody  will  hear  me.  But  first  you  must 
promise  you  will  not  drive  them  away. 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  179 

[WISE  MAN  nods.]  Every  day  men  go  out 
dressed  in  black  and  spread  great  black  nets 
over  the  hills,  great  black  nets. 

WISE  M.  Why  do  they  do  that? 

FOOL.  That  they  may  catch  the  feet  of 
the  angels.  But  every  morning,  just  before 
the  dawn,  I  go  out  and  cut  the  nets  with 
my  shears,  and  the  angels  fly  away. 

WISE  M.  Ah,  now  I  know  that  you  are 
Teigue  the  Fool.  You  have  told  me  that 
I  am  wise,  and  I  have  never  seen  an  angel. 

FOOL.   I  have  seen  plenty  of  angels. 

WISE  M.  Do  you  bring  luck  to  the  angels  too  ? 

FOOL.  Oh,  no,  no !  No  one  could  do 
that.  But  they  are  always  there  if  one  looks 
about  one;  they  are  like  the  blades  of  grass. 

WISE  M.  When  do  you  see  them? 


180  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

FOOL.  When  one  gets  quiet,  then  some- 
thing wakes  up  inside  one,  something  happy 
and  quiet  like  the  stars  —  not  like  the  seven 
that  move,  but  like  the  fixed  stars.  [He 
points  upward.] 

WISE  M.  And  what  happens  then? 

FOOL.  Then  all  in  a  minute  one  smells 
summer  flowers,  and  tall  people  go  by, 
happy  and  laughing,  and  their  clothes  are 
the  colour  of  burning  sods. 

WISE  M.  Is  it  long  since  you  have  seen 
them,  Teigue  the  Fool? 

FOOL.  Not  long,  glory  be  to  God !  I  saw 
one  coming  behind  me  just  now.  It  was 
not  laughing,  but  it  had  clothes  the  colour 
of  burning  sods,  and  there  was  something 
shining  about  its  head. 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  181 

WISE  M.  Well,  there  are  your  four  pennies. 
You,  a  fool,  say  "glory  be  to  God,"  but 
before  I  came  the  wise  men  said  it. 

FOOL.  Four  pennies !  That  means  a  great 
deal  of  luck.  Great  teacher,  I  have  brought 
you  plenty  of  luck! 

[He  goes  out  shaking  the  bag.] 

WISE  M.  Though  they  call  him  Teigue 
the  Fool,  he  is  not  more  foolish  than  every- 
body used  to  be,  with  their  dreams  and 
their  preachings  and  their  three  worlds; 
but  I  have  overthrown  their  three  worlds 
with  the  seven  sciences.  [He  touches  the 
books  with  his  hands.]  With  Philosophy 
that  was  made  from  the  lonely  star,  I  have 
taught  them  to  forget  Theology;  with  Archi- 
tecture, I  have  hidden  the  ramparts  of  their 


182  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

cloudy  heaven ;  with  Music,  the  fierce  planets' 
daughter  whose  hair  is  always  on  fire,  and 
with  Grammar  that  is  the  moon's  daughter, 
I  have  shut  their  ears  to  the  imaginary  harp- 
ings  and  speech  of  the  angels;  and  I  have 
made  formations  of  battle  with  Arithmetic 
that  have  put  the  hosts  of  heaven  to  the 
rout.  But,  Rhetoric  and  Dialectic,  that  have 
been  born  out  of  the  light  star  and  out  of 
the  amorous  star,  you  have  been  my  spear- 
man and  my  catapult!  Oh!  my  swift 
horsemen!  Oh!  my  keen  darting  argu- 
ments, it  is  because  of  you  that  I  have  over- 
thrown the  hosts  of  foolishness !  [An  Angel, 
in  a  dress  the  colour  of  embers,  and  carrying 
a  blossoming  apple  bough  in  her  hand  and  a 
gilded  halo  about  her  head,  stands  upon  the 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  183 

threshold.]  Before  I  came,  men's  minds 
were  stuffed  with  folly  about  a  heaven  where 
birds  sang  the  hours,  and  about  angels  that 
came  and  stood  upon  men's  thresholds. 
But  I  have  locked  the  visions  into  heaven 
and  turned  the  key  upon  them.  Well, 
I  must  consider  this  passage  about  the  two 
countries.  My  mother  used  to  say  some- 
thing of  the  kind.  She  would  say  that 
when  our  bodies  sleep  our  souls  awake, 
and  that  whatever  withers  here  ripens  yonder, 
and  that  harvests  are  snatched  from  us 
that  they  may  feed  invisible  people.  But 
the  meaning  of  the  book  may  be  different, 
for  only  fools  and  women  have  thoughts 
like  that;  their  thoughts  were  never  written 
upon  the  walls  of  Babylon.  I  must  ring 


184  THE  HOUE-GLAS8 

the  bell  for  my  pupils.  [He  sees  the  ANGEL.] 
What  are  you?  Who  are  you?  I  think  I 
saw  some  that  were  like  you  in  my  dreams 
when  I  was  a  child  —  that  bright  thing, 
that  dress  that  is  the  colour  of  embers! 
But  I  have  done  with  dreams,  I  have  done 
with  dreams. 

ANGEL.  I  am  the  Angel  of  the  Most  High 
God. 

WISE  M.  Why  have  you  come  to  me? 

ANGEL.   I  have  brought  you  a  message. 

WISE  M.  What  message  have  you  got 
for  me? 

ANGEL.  You  will  die  within  the  hour. 
You  will  die  when  the  last  grains  have  fallen 
in  this  glass.  [She  turns  the  hour-glass.] 

WISE  M.  My  time  to  die  has  not  come.    I 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  185 

have  my  pupils.  I  have  a  young  wife  and 
children  that  I  cannot  leave.  Why  must 
I  die? 

ANGEL.  You  must  die  because  no  souls 
have  passed  over  the  threshold  of  Heaven 
since  you  came  into  this  country.  The 
threshold  is  grassy,  and  the  gates  are  rusty, 
and  the  angels  that  keep  watch  there  are 
lonely. 

WISE  M.  Where  will  death  bring  me  to? 

ANGEL.  The  doors  of  Heaven  will  not 
open  to  you,  for  you  have  denied  the  ex- 
istence of  Heaven;  and  the  doors  of  Pur- 
gatory will  not  open  to  you,  for  you  have 
denied  the  existence  of  Purgatory. 

WISE  M.  But  I  have  also  denied  the  ex- 
istence of  Hell ! 


186  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

ANGEL.  Hell  is  the  place  of  those  who 
deny. 

WISE  M.  [kneels].  I  have,  indeed,  denied 
everything,  and  have  taught  others  to  deny. 
I  have  believed  in  nothing  but  what  my 
senses  told  me.  But,  oh!  beautiful  Angel, 
forgive  me,  forgive  me ! 

ANGEL.  You  should  have  asked  forgive- 
ness long  ago. 

WISE  M.  Had  I  seen  your  face  as  I  see 
it  now,  oh!  beautiful  angel,  I  would  have 
believed,  I  would  have  asked  forgiveness. 
Maybe  you  do  not  know  how  easy  it  is  to 
doubt.  Storm,  death,  the  grass  rotting, 
many  sicknesses,  those  are  the  messengers 
that  came  to  me.  Oh !  why  are  you  silent  ? 
You  carry  the  pardon  of  the  Most  High; 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  187 

give  it  to  me!  I  would  kiss  your  hands  if 
I  were  not  afraid  —  no,  no,  the  hem  of  your 
dress ! 

ANGEL.  You  let  go  undying  hands  too 
long  ago  to  take  hold  of  them  now. 

WISE  M.  You  cannot  understand.  You 
live  in  that  country  people  only  see  in  their 
dreams.  Maybe  it  is  as  hard  for  you  to 
understand  why  we  disbelieve  as  it  is  for 
us  to  believe.  Oh !  what  have  I  said ! 
You  know  everything!  Give  me  time  to 
undo  what  I  have  done.  Give  me  a  year 
—  a  month  —  a  day  —  an  hour!  Give  me 
to  this  hour's  end,  that  I  may  undo  what  I 
have  done! 

ANGEL.  You  cannot  undo  what  you  have 
done.  Yet  I  have  this  power  with  my 


188  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

message.  If  you  can  find  one  that  believes 
before  the  hour's  end,  you  shall  come  to 
Heaven  after  the  years  of  Purgatory.  For, 
from  one  fiery  seed,  watched  over  by  those 
that  sent  me,  the  harvest  can  come  again 
to  heap  the  golden  threshing  floor.  But 
now  farewell,  for  I  am  weary  of  the  weight 
of  time. 

WISE  M.  Blessed  be  the  Father,  blessed 
be  the  Son,  blessed  be  the  Spirit,  blessed 
be  the  Messenger  They  have  sent ! 

ANGEL  [at  the  door  and  pointing  at  the 
hour-glass].  In  a  little  while  the  uppermost 
glass  will  be  empty.  [Goes  out.] 

WISE  M.  Everything  will  be  well  with 
me.  I  will  call  my  pupils;  they  only  say 
they  doubt.  [Pulls  the  bell]  They  will 


THE  HOUR  GLASS  189 

be  here  in  a  moment.  They  want  to  please 
me;  they  pretend  that  they  disbelieve. 
Belief  is  too  old  to  be  overcome  all  in  a 
minute.  Besides,  I  can  prove  what  I  once 
disproved.  [Another  pull  at  the  bell]  They 
are  coming  now.  I  will  go  to  my  desk. 
I  will  speak  quietly,  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. 

[He  stands  at  the  desk  with  a  fixed  look 
in  his  eyes.  The  voices  of  the  pupils 
are  heard  outside  singing  these  words.] 

I  was  going  the  road  one  day, 
0  the  brown  and  the  yellow  beer, 
And  I  met  with  a  man  that  was  no 

right  man 
0  my  dear,  0  my  dear. 


190  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

[The  sound  grows  louder  as  they  come  nearer, 
but  ceases  on  the  threshold.] 
Enter  PUPILS  and  the  FOOL. 

FOOL.  Leave  me  alone.  Leave  me  alone. 
Who  is  that  pulling  at  my  bag?  King's 
son,  do  not  pull  at  my  bag. 

A  YOUNG  MAN.  Did  your  friends  the  an- 
gels give  you  that  bag?  Why  don't  they 
fill  your  bag  for  you? 

FOOL.  Give  me  pennies!  Give  me  some 
pennies ! 

A  YOUNG  M.  What  do  you  want  pennies 
for? — that  great  bag  at  your  waist  is  heavy. 

FOOL.  I  want  to  buy  bacon  in  the  shops, 
and  nuts  in  the  market,  and  strong  drink 
for  the  time  when  the  sun  is  weak,  and 
snares  to  catch  rabbits  and  the  squirrels 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  191 

that  steal  the  nuts,  and  hares,  and  a  great 
pot  to  cook  them  in. 

A  YOUNG  M.  Why  don't  your  friends 
tell  you  where  buried  treasures  are?  Why 
don't  they  make  you  dream  about  treasures  ? 
If  one  dreams  three  times  there  is  always 
treasure. 

FOOL  [holding  out  his  hat].  Give  me 
pennies  !  Give  me  pennies ! 

[They  throw  pennies  into  his  hat.  He  is 
standing  close  to  the  door,  that  he  may 
hold  out  his  hat  to  each  newcomer.] 

A  YOUNG  M.  Master,  will  you  have  Teigue 
the  Fool  for  a  scholar  ? 

ANOTHER  YOUNG  M.  Teigue,  will  you 
give  us  your  pennies  if  we  teach  you  lessons  ? 
No,  he  goes  to  school  for  nothing  on  the 


192  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

mountains.  Tell  us  what  you  learn  on  the 
mountains,  Teigue. 

WISE  M.  Be  silent  all!  [He  has  been 
standing  silent,  looking  away.]  Stand  still 
in  your  places,  for  there  is  something  I  would 
have  you  tell  me. 

[A  moment's  pause.  They  all  stand  round 
in  their  places.  TEIGUE  still  stands  at 
the  door.] 

WISE  M.  Is  there  anyone  amongst  you 
who  believes  in  God?  In  Heaven?  Or 
in  Purgatory?  Or  in  Hell? 

ALL  THE  YOUNG  MEN.  No  one,  Master! 
No  one! 

WISE  M.  I  knew  you  would  all  say  that; 
but  do  not  be  afraid.  I  will  not  be  angry. 
Tell  me  the  truth.  Do  you  not  believe  ? 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  193 

A  YOUNG  M.  We  once  did,  but  you  have 
taught  us  to  know  better. 

WISE  M.  Oh,  teaching!  teaching  does  not 
go  very  deep !  The  heart  remains  unchanged 
under  it  all.  You  have  the  faith  that  you 
have  always  had,  and  you  are  afraid  to  tell  me. 

A  YOUNG  M.   No,  no,  Master! 

WISE  M.  If  you  tell  me  that  you  have 
not  changed,  I  shall  be  glad  and  not  angry. 

A  YOUNG  M.  [to  his  NEIGHBOUR].  He 
wants  somebody  to  dispute  with. 

His  NEIGHBOUR.  I  knew  that  from  the 
beginning. 

A  YOUNG  M.  That  is  not  the  subject  for 
to-day;  you  were  going  to  talk  about  the 
words  the  beggar  wrote  upon  the  walls  of 
Babylon. 


194  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

WISE  M.  If  there  is  one  amongst  you  that 
believes,  he  will  be  my  best  friend.  Surely 
there  is  one  amongst  you.  [They  are  all  silent.] 
Surely  what  you  learned  at  your  mother's 
knees  has  not  been  so  soon  forgotten. 

A  YOUNG  M.  Master,  till  you  came,  no 
teacher  in  this  land  was  able  to  get  rid  of 
foolishness  and  ignorance.  But  every  one 
has  listened  to  you,  every  one  has  learned 
the  truth.  You  have  had  your  last  dis- 
putation. 

ANOTHER.  What  a  fool  you  made  of  that 
monk  in  the  market-place!  He  had  not 
a  word  to  say. 

WISE  M.  [comes  from  his  desk  and  stands 
among  them  in  the  middle  of  the  room].  Pupils, 
dear  friends,  I  have  deceived  you  all  this  time. 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  195 

It  was  I  myself  who  was  ignorant.  There  is 
a  God.  There  is  a  Heaven.  There  is  fire 
that  passes  and  there  is  fire  that  lasts  for  ever. 

[TEIGUE,  through  all  this,  is  sitting  on  a 
stool  by  the  door,  reckoning  on  his  fingers 
what  he  will  buy  with  his  money.] 

A  YOUNG  M.  [to  Another].  He  will  not 
be  satisfied  till  we  dispute  with  him.  [To 
the  WISE  MAN.]  Prove  it,  Master.  Have 
you  seen  them? 

WISE  M.  [in  a  low,  solemn  voice].  Just 
now,  before  you  came  in,  someone  came 
to  the  door,  and  when  I  looked  up  I  saw 
an  angel  standing  there. 

A  YOUNG  M.  You  were  in  a  dream.  Any- 
body can  see  an  angel  in  his  dreams. 

WISE   M.   Oh,   my   God!     It  was  not  a 


196  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

dream !  I  was  awake,  waking  as  I  am  now. 
I  tell  you  I  was  awake  as  I  am  now. 

A  YOUNG  M.  Some  dream  when  they  are 
awake,  but  they  are  the  crazy,  and  who  would 
believe  what  they  say  ?  Forgive  me,  Master, 
but  that  is  what  you  taught  me  to  say.  That 
is  what  you  said  to  the  monk  when  he  spoke 
of  the  visions  of  the  saints  and  the  martyrs. 

ANOTHER  YOUNG  M.  You  see  how  well 
we  remember  your  teaching. 

WISE  M.  Out,  out  from  my  sight!  I 
want  someone  with  belief.  I  must  find  that 
grain  the  Angel  spoke  of  before  I  die.  I 
tell  you  I  must  find  it,  and  you  answer  me 
with  arguments.  Out  with  you,  out  of 
my  sight !  [The  YOUNG  MEN  laugh.] 

A  YOUNG  M.  How  well  he  plays  at  faith! 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  197 

He  is  like  the  monk  when  he  had  nothing 
more  to  say. 

WISE  MAN.  Out,  out,  this  is  no  time  for 
laughter!  Out  with  you,  though  you  are 
a  king's  son !  [They  begin  to  hurry  out.] 

A  YOUNG  M.  Come,  come;  he  wants  us 
to  find  someone  who  will  dispute  with  him. 

[All  go  out.] 

WISE  M.  [alone;  he  goes  to  the  door  at 
the  side].  I  will  call  my  wife.  She  will 
believe;  women  always  believe.  [He  opens 
the  door  and  calls.]  Bridget !  Bridget ! 
[BRIDGET  comes  in,  wearing  her  apron,  her 
sleeves  turned  up  from  her  floury  arms.] 
Bridget,  tell  me  the  truth;  do  not  say  what 
you  think  will  please  me.  Do  you  some- 
times say  your  prayers? 


198  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

BRIDGET.  Prayers!  No,  you  taught  me 
to  leave  them  off  long  ago.  At  first  I  was 
sorry,  but  I  am  glad  now,  for  I  am  sleepy  in 
the  evening. 

WISE  M.  But  do  you  not  believe  in  God? 

BRIDGET.  Oh,  a  good  wife  only  believes 
what  her  husband  tells  her! 

WISE  M.  But  sometimes,  when  you  are 
alone,  when  I  am  in.  the  school  and  the 
children  asleep,  do  you  not  think  about  the 
saints,  about  the  things  you  used  to  believe 
in?  What  do  you  think  of  when  you  are 
alone  ? 

BRIDGET  [considering].  I  think  about 
nothing.  Sometimes  I  wonder  if  the  linen 
is  bleaching  white,  or  I  go  out  to  see  if  the 
cows  are  picking  up  the  chickens'  food. 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  199 

WISE  M.  Oh,  what  can  I  do !  Is  there 
nobody  who  believes  he  can  never  die?  I 
must  go  and  find  somebody !  [He  goes 
towards  the  door,  but  stops  with  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  hour-glass.]  I  cannot  go  out;  I 
cannot  leave  that;  go  and  call  my  pupils 
again  —  I  will  make  them  understand  — 
I  will  say  to  them  that  only  amid  spiritual 
terror,  or  only  when  all  that  laid  hold  on 
life  is  shaken  can  we  see  truth  —  but  no, 
do  not  call  them,  they  would  answer  as  I 
have  bid. 

BRIDGET.  You  want  somebody  to  get  up 
an  argument  with. 

WISE  M.  Oh,  look  out  of  the  door  and 
tell  me  if  there  is  anybody  there  in  the  street ! 
I  cannot  leave  this  glass;  somebody  might 


200  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

shake  it!  Then  the  sand  would  fall  more 
quickly. 

BRIDGET.  I  don't  understand  what  you 
are  saying.  [Looks  out.]  There  is  a  great 
crowd  of  people  talking  to  your  pupils. 

WISE  M.  Oh,  run  out,  Bridget,  and  see 
if  they  have  found  somebody  that  all  the 
time  while  I  was  teaching  understood  noth- 
ing or  did  not  listen. 

BRIDGET  [wiping  her  arms  in  her  apron 
and  pulling  down  her  sleeves}.  It's  a  hard 
thing  to  be  married  to  a  man  of  learning 
that  must  be  always  having  arguments. 
[Goes  out  and  shouts  through  the  kitchen  door.] 
Don't  be  meddling  with  the  bread,  children, 
while  I'm  out. 

WISE  M.   [kneels   down].     "Oonfiteor    Deo 


THE  HOUB-GLA88  201 

omnipotente  beatce  Maries.  ..."  I  have 
forgotten  it  all.  It  is  thirty  years  since 
I  have  said  a  prayer.  I  must  pray  in  the 
common  tongue,  like  a  clown  begging  in 
the  market,  like  Teigue  the  Fool!  [He 
prays.]  Help  me,  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit! 

[BRIDGET  enters,  followed  by  the  FOOL, 
who  is  holding  out  his  hat  to  her.] 

FOOL.  Give  me  something;  give  me  a 
penny  to  buy  bacon  in  the  shops,  and  nuts 
in  the  market,  and  strong  drink  for  the  time 
when  the  sun  is  weak. 

BRIDGET.  I  have  no  pennies.  [To  the 
WISE  MAN.]  Your  pupils  cannot  find  any- 
body to  argue  with  you.  There  is  nobody 
in  the  whole  country  who  has  enough  belief 
to  fill  a  pipe  with  since  you  put  down  the 


202  THE  HOUR-GLA88 

monk.  Can't  you  be  quiet  now  and  not 
always  wanting  to  have  arguments?  It 
must  be  terrible  to  have  a  mind  like  that. 

WISE  M.   I  am  lost !    I  am  lost ! 

BEIDGET.  Leave  me  alone  now;  I  have 
to  make  the  bread  for  you  and  the  children. 

WISE  M.  Out  of  this,  woman,  out  of  this, 
I  say !  [BRIDGET  goes  through  the  kitchen 
door.]  Will  nobody  find  a  way  to  help  me ! 
But  she  spoke  of  my  children.  I  had  for- 
gotten them.  They  will  believe.  It  is  only 
those  who  have  reason  that  doubt ;  the  young 
are  full  of  faith.  Bridget,  Bridget,  send  my 
children  to  me. 

BRIDGET  [inside].  Your  father  wants 
you;  run  to  him  now. 

[The  two  CHILDREN  come  in.    They  stand 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  203 

together  a  little  way  from  the  threshold 
of  the  kitchen  door,  looking  timidly  at 
their  father.] 

WISE  M.  Children,  what  do  you  believe? 
Is  there  a  Heaven?  Is  there  a  Hell?  Is 
there  a  Purgatory? 

FIRST  CHILD.  We  haven't  forgotten,  father. 

THE  OTHER  CHILD.  Oh,  no,  father.  [They 
both  speak  togetJier,  as  if  in  school.]  There 
is  nothing  we  cannot  see;  there  is  nothing 
we  cannot  touch. 

FIRST  CHILD.  Foolish  people  used  to  think 
that  there  was,  but  you  are  very  learned  and 
you  have  taught  us  better. 

WISE  M.  You  are  just  as  bad  as  the 
others,  just  as  bad  as  the  others !  Do  not 
run  away;  come  back  to  me.  [The  CHIL- 


Iff 

204  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

BEEN  begin  to  cry  and  run  away.}  Why  are 
you  afraid?  I  will  teach  you  better  — 
no,  I  will  never  teach  you  again.  Go  to 
your  mother!  no,  she  will  not  be  able  to 
teach  them.  .  .  .  Help  them,  0  God !  .  .  . 
The  grains  are  going  very  quickly.  There 
is  very  little  sand  in  the  uppermost  glass. 
Somebody  will  come  for  me  in  a  moment; 
perhaps  he  is  at  the  door  now !  All  creatures 
that  have  reason  doubt.  0  that  the  grass 
and  the  plants  could  speak!  Somebody 
has  said  that  they  would  wither  if  they 
doubted.  0  speak  to  me,  0  grass  blades! 

0  fingers  of  God's  certainty,  speak  to  me! 
You  are  millions  and  you  will  not  speak. 

1  dare  not  know  the  moment  the  messenger 
will  come  for  me.    I  will  cover  the  glass. 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  205 

[He  covers  it  and  brings  it  to  the  desk.  Sees 
the  FOOL,  who  is  sitting  by  the  door  playing 
with  some  flowers  which  he  has  stuck  in  his 
hat.  He  has  begun  to  blow  a  dandelion  head.] 
What  are  you  doing? 

FOOL.  Wait  a  moment.  [He  blows.]  Four, 
five,  six. 

WISE  M.  What  are  you  doing  that  for? 

FOOL.  I  am  blowing  at  the  dandelion  to 
find  out  what  time  it  is. 

WISE  M.  You  have  heard  everything! 
That  is  why  you  want  to  find  out  what  hour 
it  is!  You  are  waiting  to  see  them  coming 
through  the  door  to  carry  me  away.  [FooL 
goes  on  blowing.]  Out  through  the  door 
with  you!  I  will  have  no  one  here  when 
they  come.  [He  seizes  the  FOOL  by  the 


206  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

shoulders,  and  begins  to  force  him  out  through 
the  door,  then  suddenly  changes  his  mind.] 
No,  I  have  something  to  ask  you.  [He  drags 
him  back  into  the  room.]  Is  there  a  Heaven? 
Is  there  a  Hell?  Is  there  a  Purgatory? 

FOOL.  So  you  ask  me  now.  When 
you  were  asking  your  pupils,  I  said  to 
myself,  if  he  would  ask  Teigue  the  Fool, 
Teigue  could  tell  him  all  about  it,  for  Teigue 
has  learned  all  about  it  when  he  has  been 
cutting  the  nets. 

WISE  M.  Tell  me;  tell  me! 

FOOL.  I  said,  Teigue  knows  everything. 
Not  even  the  cats  or  the  hares  that  milk 
the  cows  have  Teigue's  wisdom.  But  Teigue 
will  not  speak;  he  says  nothing. 

WISE  M.  Tell  me,  tell  me!    For  under 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  207 

the  cover  the  grains  are  falling,  and  when 
they  are  all  fallen  I  shall  die;  and  my  soul 
?  will  be  lost  if  I  have  not  found  somebody 
that  believes!  Speak,  speak! 

FOOL  [looking  wise].  No,  no,  I  won't 
tell  you  what  is  in  my  mind,  and  I  won't 
tell  you  what  is  in  my  bag.  You  might  steal 
away  my  thoughts.  I  met  a  bodach  on  the 
road  yesterday,  and  he  said,  "Teigue,  tell  me 
how  many  pennies  are  in  your  bag;  I  will 
wager  three  pennies  that  there  are  not  twenty 
pennies  in  your  bag;  let  me  put  in  my  hand 
and  count  them."  But  I  pulled  the  strings 
tighter,  like  this ;  and  when  I  go  to  sleep  every 
night  I  hide  the  bag  where  no  one  knows. 

WISE  M.  [goes  towards  the  hour-glass  as 
if  to  uncover  it].  No,  no,  I  have  not  the 


208  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

courage.  [He  kneels.]  Have  pity  upon  me, 
Fool,  and  tell  me ! 

FOOL.  Ah !  Now,  that  is  different.  I  am 
not  afraid  of  you  now.  But  I  must  come 
nearer  to  you;  somebody  in  there  might 
hear  what  the  Angel  said. 

WISE  M.  Oh,  what  did  the  Angel  tell  you  ? 

FOOL.  Once  I  was  alone  on  the  hills,  and 
an  angel  came  by  and  he  said,  "Teigue  the 
Fool,  do  not  forget  the  Three  Fires;  the 
Fire  that  punishes,  the  Fire  that  purifies,  and 
the  Fire  wherein  the  soul  rejoices  for  ever !" 

WISE  M.  He  believes !  I  am  saved !  The 
sand  has  run  out.  .  .  .  [FooL  helps  him 
to  his  chair.]  I  am  going  from  the  country 
of  the  seven  wandering  stars,  and  I  am  go- 
ing to  the  country  of  the  fixed  stars !  .  .  . 


THE  HOUR-GLASS  209 

I  understand  it  all  now.  One  sinks  in  on 
God;  we  do  not  see  the  truth;  God  sees 
the  truth  in  us.  Ring  the  bell.  [FooL  rings 
bell.]  Are  they  coming?  Tell  them,  Fool, 
that  when  the  life  and  the  mind  are  broken 
the  truth  comes  through  them  like  peas 
through  a  broken  peascod.  Pray,  Fool, 
that  they  may  be  given  a  sign  and  carry 
their  souls  alive  out  of  the  dying  world. 
Your  prayers  are  better  than  mine. 

[FooL  bows  his  head.  WISE  MAN'S  head 
sinks  on  his  arm  on  the  books.  PUPILS 
are  heard  singing  as  before,  but  now  they 
come  right  into  the  room  before  they  cease 
their  song.] 

A  YOUNG  MAN.  Look  at  the  Fool  turned 
bell-ringer ! 


210  THE  HOUR-GLASS 

ANOTHER.  What  have  you  called  us  in  for, 
Teigue  ?  What  are  you  going  to  tell  us  ? 

ANOTHER.  No  wonder  he  has  had  dreams ! 
See,  he  is  fast  asleep  now.  [Goes  over  and 
touches  him.]  Oh,  he  is  dead ! 

FOOL.  Do  not  stir !  He  asked  for  a  sign 
that  you  might  be  saved.  [All  are  silent 
for  a  moment.]  .  .  .  Look  what  has  come 
from  his  mouth  ...  a  little  winged  thing 
...  a  little  shining  thing.  ...  It  is  gone 
to  the  door.  [The  ANGEL  appears  in  the 
doorway,  stretches  out  her  hands  and  closes 
them  again.]  The  Angel  has  taken  it  in  her 
hands.  .  .  .  She  will  open  her  hands  in 
the  Garden  of  Paradise.  [They  all  kneel] 

CURTAIN 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


BY   ALFRED   NOYES 

Poems 

With  an  Introduction  by  HAMILTON  W.  MABIE 
Cloth,  I2mo,  $  1.25 

"  Imagination,  the  capacity  to  perceive  vividly  and 
feel  sincerely,  and  the  gift  of  fit  and  beautiful  expres- 
sion in  verse-form  —  if  these  may  be  taken  as  the 
equipment  of  a  poet,  nearly  all  of  this  volume  is 
poetry.  And  if  to  the  sum  of  these  be  added  the 
indescribable  increment  of  charm  which  comes  occa- 
sionally to  the  work  of  some  poet,  quite  unearned  by 
any  of  these  catalogued  qualities  of  his,  you  have  a 
fair  measure  of  Mr.  Noyes  at  his  best.  .  .  .  Two 
considerations  render  Mr.  Noyes  interesting  above 
most  poets :  the  wonderful  degree  in  which  the  per- 
sonal charm  illumines  what  he  has  already  written, 
and  the  surprises  which  one  feels  may  be  in  store  in 
his  future  work.  His  feelings  have  already  so  much 
variety  and  so  much  apparent  sincerity  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  tell  in  what  direction  his  genius  will  de- 
velop. In  whatever  style  he  writes,  —  the  mystical, 
the  historical-dramatic,  the  impassioned  description 
of  natural  beauty,  the  ballad,  the  love  lyric,  —  he  has 
the  peculiarity  of  seeming  in  each  style  to  have  found 
the  truest  expression  of  himself."  —  Louisville  Courier- 
Journal. 

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MR.   ALFRED    NOYES'S   POEMS 

The  Flower  of  Old  Japan 

Contains  also  "  Forest  of  Wild  Thyme,"  of  which  the  Argonaut 
says :  "  It  is  not  only  an  exquisite  piece  of  work,  but  it  is  a  psychologi- 
cal analysis  of  the  child-mind  so  daring  and  yet  so  convincing  as  to 
lift  it  to  the  plane  where  the  masterpieces  of  literature  dwell.  It  can 
be  read  with  delight  by  a  child  of  ten.  It  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  a 
child  of  about  that  age,  but  the  adult  must  be  strangely  constituted 
who  can  remain  indifferent  to  its  haunting  spell  or  who  can  resist  the 
fascination  which  lies  in  its  every  page." 

"We  are  reminded  both  of  Stevenson  —  to  whom  Mr.  Noyes  pays  a 
glowing  tribute  —  and  Lewis  Carroll;  yet  there  is  no  imitation;  Mr. 
Noyes  has  a  distinct  poetic  style  of  his  own.  ...  In  a  matter-of-fact 
age  such  verse  as  this  is  an  oasis  in  a  desert  land."  —  Providenct 
Journal. 

"  It  has  seemed  to  us  from  the  first  that  Noyes  has  been  one  of  the 
most  hope-inspiring  figures  in  our  latter-day  poetry.  He,  almost  alone, 
of  the  younger  men  seems  to  have  the  true  singing  voice,  the  gift  of 
uttering  in  authentic  lyric  cry  some  fresh,  unspoiled  emotion."  —  Post. 

Mr.  Richard  Le  Gallienne  in  the  North  American  Review  pointed 
out  recently  "  their  spontaneous  power  and  freshness,  their  imaginative 
vision,  their  lyrical  magic."  He  adds  :  "Mr.  Noyes  is  surprisingly 
various.  I  have  seldom  read  one  book,  particularly  by  so  young  a 
writer,  in  which  so  many  different  things  are  done,  and  all  done  so 
well.  .  .  .  But  that  for  which  one  is  most  grateful  to  Mr.  Noyes  in  his 
strong  and  brilliant  treatment  of  all  his  rich  material,  is  the  gift  by 
which,  in  my  opinion,  he  stands  alone  among  the  younger  poets  of  the 
day,  his  lyrical  gift." 

Cloth,  i2mo,  $  1.25 


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Lyrical  and  Dramatic  Poems 

BY   W.   B.  YEATS 

In  two  volumes;  each,  $1.75 

The  two-volume  edition  of  the  Irish  poet's  works  includes 
everything  he  has  done  in  verse  up  to  the  present  time. 
The  first  volume  contains  his  lyrics  ;  the  second  includes 
all  of  his  five  dramas  in  verse  :  "The  Countess  Cathleen," 
"The  Land  of  Heart's  Desire,"  "The  King's  Threshold," 
"On  Baile's  Strand,"  and  "The  Shadowy  Waters." 

William  Butler  Yeats  stands  among  the  few  men  to  be 
reckoned  with  in  modern  poetry,  especially  of  a  dramatic 
character.  The  New  York  Sun,  for  example,  refers  to  him 
as  "  an  important  factor  in  English  literature,"  and  con- 
tinues :  — 

" '  Cathleen  ni  Hoolihan '  is  a  perfect  piece  of  artistic 
work,  poetic  and  wonderfully  dramatic  to  read,  and,  we 
should  imagine,  far  more  dramatic  in  the  acting.  Maeter- 
linck has  never  done  anything  so  true  or  effective  as  this 
short  prose  drama  of  Mr.  Yeats's.  There  is  not  a  super- 
fluous word  in  the  play  and  no  word  that  does  not  tell.  It 
must  be  dangerous  to  represent  it  in  Ireland,  for  it  is  an 
Irish  Marseillaise.  ...  In  '  The  Hour  Glass '  a  noble  and 
poetic  idea  is  carried  out  effectively,  while  '  A  Pot  of  Broth  ' 
is  merely  a.  dramatized  humorous  anecdote.  But  '  Cathleen 
ni  Hoolihan '  stirs  the  blood,  and  in  itself  establishes  Mr. 
Yeats's  reputation  for  good." 

The  New  York  Herald  remarks  :  — 

"  Mr.  Yeats  is  probably  the  most  important  as  well  as  the 
most  widely  known  of  the  men  concerned  directly  in  the  so- 
called  Celtic  renaissance.  More  than  this,  he  stands  among 
the  few  men  to  be  reckoned  with  in  modern  poetry." 


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A  History  of  English  Poetry 

BY  W.  J.  COURTHOPE,  C.B.,  D.Litt.,  LL.D. 

Late  Professor  of  Poetry  in  the  University  of  Oxford 

Cloth,  8vo,  $  3.25         per  volume 

VOLUME  I.  The  Middle  Ages  —  Influence  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire  —  The  Encyclopaedic  Education  of  the 
Church  —  The  Feudal  System. 

VOLUME  II.  The  Renaissance  and  the  Reformation— 
Influence  of  the  Court  and  the  Universities. 

VOLUME  III.  English  Poetry  in  the  Seventeenth  Cen- 
tury—  Decadent  Influence  of  the  Feudal  Monarchy  — 
Growth  of  the  National  Genius. 

VOLUME  IV.  Development  and  Decline  of  the  Poetic 
Drama —  Influence  of  the  Court  and  the  People. 

VOLUME  V.  The  Constitutional  Compromise  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century  —  Effects  of  the  Classical  Renais- 
sance —  Its  Zenith  and  Decline  —  The  Early  Romantic 
Renaissance. 


"  It  is  his  privilege  to  have  made  a  contribution  of  great 
value  and  signal  importance  to  the  history  of  English  Litera- 
ture." —  Pall  Mall  Gazette. 


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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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